The claimed intention of Russian President Vladimir Putin to place nuclear weapons in Belarus’ neighboring country was denounced by US President Joe Biden on Tuesday as “dangerous” language.
At the White House, Biden told reporters, “This is a dangerous type of discourse and it’s disturbing.”
The head of the Kremlin said on Saturday that he was directing the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is ruled by Alexander Lukashenko, another authoritarian leader and one of Russia’s closest friends.
The move, which comes after more than a year of Moscow’s attempts to subjugate pro-Western Ukraine — a neighbor of both Russia and Belarus — has been condemned by Washington.
American authorities said they have not seen any evidence that Russia is really transferring nuclear weapons.
Biden answered, “They haven’t done it yet.”