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By Fatma Khaled
Staff Writer
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Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin disregarded Chinese President Xi Jinping by stationing nuclear weapons in Belarus after they both agreed to not deploy nuclear weapons beyond their national territories.
"Both Putin and [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko humiliated Xi. Remember, Luka was just treated to a fancy state visit to China. Xi just came to Moscow. Can't imagine this decision is going down well in Beijing," McFaul wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
The former U.S. ambassador was referring to Lukashenko's recent trip to China in which he discussed the war in Ukraine with Xi earlier this month. China, one of Russia's strongest allies, has long claimed neutrality in the war in Ukraine, and even issued a proposal in February for a cease-fire and peace talks. However, China also repeatedly touted its "no-limits" partnership with Russia and refused to call the war in Ukraine an invasion.
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Despite their close relations, Russia seems to have overlooked its joint statement with China, saying that both countries would not deploy nuclear weapons beyond their national borders. Putin on Saturday announced the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus where Russian troops were training for the initial invasion of Ukraine over a year ago.
"Not good. Putin is sending nukes to Belarus," McFaul tweeted about the Russian leader's announcement on Saturday. Meanwhile, head of Ukraine's national security council, Oleksiy Danilov, said on Sunday on Twitter that Russia has taken Belarus "as a nuclear hostage," which is contributing towards the "internal destabilization" in Ukraine.
Putin's decision reportedly came in response to the United Kingdom providing Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium, according to the Associated Press. The Russian leader has falsely accused the U.K. of providing Ukraine weapons "with a nuclear opponent."
"I would like to highlight that, without breaking our international commitments on not spreading nuclear weapons, we already helped our Belarus colleagues to re-equip their planes. Planes of Belarus Air Forces. Ten planes are ready for using this type of weapon," Putin said during a broadcast on Saturday. "We already transferred to Belarus our well known and very effective Iskander complex, and it can also be a carrier."
Days before his decision, Moscow and Beijing issued a joint statement on the deployment of nuclear weapons abroad, according to Russian news agency TASS.
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"All nuclear powers must not deploy their nuclear weapons beyond their national territories, and they must withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad," the statement read.
Xi arrived in Moscow on Monday to discuss China's peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. The Chinese president reportedly reaffirmed his country's commitment to Russia in its position on the United Nations Security Council and reiterated Beijing's hopes of reaching a "political settlement" in the Ukraine war. Meanwhile, Putin announced a number of measures that showed Russia's dependence on China in the economic and energy sectors, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Newsweek reached out to the Russian foreign affairs ministry by email for comment.
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