Media: Macron asks Xi to put pressure on Putin over nuclear plan for Belarus

April 6, BPN. In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 6, French President Emmanuel Macron touched on the possible deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“Macron […] asked Xi to press Russia to comply with international rules on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons,” Reuters wrote.

According to the news agency, the Chinese leader replied, without mentioning Russia, that all nations should respect obligations on not using nuclear arms.

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel on March 25, Vladimir Putin said that a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus would be completed by July 1. The West and Belarusian democratic forces denounced this plan, while China spoke out against any nuclear wars.

Russia said its nuclear arsenal in Belarus will be controlled by Moscow, while Alaksandr Łukašenka suggested that “everything there is in Belarus will be managed by us here.”

Moscow’s envoy to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov, said the storage facility would be built near the Russian-Belarusian union’s western border.