Belarus leader says he wants Russian nuclear-capable missile systems

Belarus wants Russian nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems to deploy in the south and west of the country, said President Alexander Lukashenko in an interview with a Russian defense magazine published on Saturday (13).

Russia is a close ally of Belarus, which the European Union has accused of creating a crisis on its border, taking thousands of migrants and forcing them to try to cross illegally into Poland. Brussels is preparing to sanction Minsk.

Lukashenko told National Defense magazine that he needed the Iskander mobile ballistic missile system, which has a range of up to 500 kilometers and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

“I need several divisions in the west and south, let them stay (there),” he said.

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Poland and Lithuania, members of the EU, lie west of Belarus. Its south borders Ukraine.

Lukashenko gave no indication as to whether he had held negotiations with Moscow over the receipt of the missile system.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Belarus and Russia are formally part of a “state of unity” and have been negotiating for years to come closer.