MOSCOW – Russia will deploy its Oreshnik missile systems in Belarus in accordance with the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries, a senior Russian diplomat confirmed on Tuesday.
“In line with our allied commitments … Russia is ready to provide Minsk with the necessary support and take measures to protect our common defense space,” Alexey Polishchuk, head of the Second Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with TASS news agency.
He emphasized that the medium-range ballistic Oreshnik missiles will be stationed in Belarus as part of these agreements.
Polishchuk added that Belarus already hosts a joint Regional Forces Group, modern Russian defense systems, and non-strategic nuclear weapons, emphasizing that the country’s armed forces and security agencies are capable of handling both external and internal threats independently.
In late January, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile system would arrive in Belarus “any day now,” adding that the system may be deployed closer to the Smolensk region.
XINHUA
