Belarus President Willing to Host Russian Nukes
If NATO’s Nukes Move Further East
Dave DeCamp / AntiWar.com
(November 30, 2021) —On Tuesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said if NATO moves nuclear weapons into Eastern Europe, Belarus would be willing to host Russian nukes in response.
“I would offer Putin to return nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Lukashenko said when asked how he would respond to NATO’s nukes moving further east.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently threatened to move the alliance’s nuclear weapons closer to Russia if Germany’s incoming government didn’t want to host them anymore. Germany doesn’t have nuclear weapons of its own but houses about 20 US warheads and planes that can deliver them as part of a NATO nuclear sharing agreement.
“Germany can, of course, decide whether there will be nuclear weapons in your country, but the alternative is that we easily end up with nuclear weapons in other countries in Europe, also to the east of Germany,” Stoltenberg said earlier this month.
Members of the political parties forming Germany’s new coalition government have previously expressed opposition to hosting the US bombs, causing concern for NATO. But for now, it doesn’t appear there will be any change. The German parties said in a coalition deal last week that the country would continue hosting the weapons.
“As long as nuclear weapons play a role in NATO’s strategic concept, Germany has an interest in participating in strategic discussions and planning processes,” the coalition said.
Germany’s Incoming Government Agrees to Keep Hosting US Nukes
NATO threatens to move nukes closer to Russia,
if new German government doesn’t want them
(November 24, 2021) — Germany’s incoming government said in a coalition deal that it will continue hosting US nuclear weapons.
The announcement comes after some speculation that the new government might be opposed to the presence of nuclear weapons based on earlier comments by members of the political parties forming the coalition. The government is being formed by the Social Democratic Party(SDP), the Green Party, and the Free Democrats.
Germany has no nuclear weapons of its own but has between 15 and 20 US B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at the Büchel Airbase and a fleet of Tornado fighter bombers to deliver them as part of a NATO agreement.
Members of the Greens and the SDP have previously voiced opposition to the arrangement, causing NATO to press the country to continue hosting the nukes. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said if Germany stopped hosting the nukes, the alliance would move them further east, closer to Russia.
“As long as nuclear weapons play a role in NATO’s strategic concept, Germany has an interest in participating in strategic discussions and planning processes,” the coalition said. Olaf Scholz of the SDP, considered a center-left party, will replace Angela Merkel as German Chancellor and is expected to be sworn in early next month.
NATO Presses Germany to Keep Hosting US Nukes
Political parties forming Germany’s new government
are opposed to hosting US nuclear weapons
(November 19, 2021) — Germany’s incoming government is being formed by political parties who oppose the presence of US nuclear weapons in the country. With that in mind, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that Germany has a responsibility to house nuclear weapons.
NATO’s nuclear-sharing strategy places nuclear weapons in several countries in Europe. Germany has no nukes of its own but has between 15 and 20 US B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at the Büchel Airbase and a fleet of Tornado fighter bombers to deliver them.
Ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Stoltenberg said the NATO nuclear-sharing is the alliance’s “ultimate” security guarantee. “The nuclear weapons we share in NATO provide European allies with an effective nuclear umbrella,” he said.
Merkel is on her way out, and the incoming government is expected to include the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Green Party. According to Stars and Stripes, both parties have in the past called for the removal of the US B-61 bombs from the Büchel Airbase.
The SDP is also known for its friendly stance towards Russia. Gerhard Schröder, a former German chancellor and former leader of SDP, is the chairman of the board of Nord Stream AG, the company in charge of completing the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that will connect Russia and Germany.
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