Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has threatened to use nuclear weapons. In the event of war, he could call Russian President Vladimir Putin at any time, Lukashenko said on Russian television on Tuesday.
"What's the problem, coordinating a shot like that? That's not a question at all," Lukashenko asserted.
Putin announced in March that Russian nuclear weapons would be stationed in Belarus. However, these were to remain under Russia's control, the Kremlin chief assured.
The nuclear weapons were needed to protect Belarus from attack, Lukashenko said, claiming that West has been trying for years to tear his country apart.
He said that armed with nuclear weapons, Belarus no longer faced attack. "The bombs are three times as powerful as the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki," said the 68-year-old, referring to the two atomic bombs dropped by the US on Japan in 1945. The explosions killed well over 100,000 people.
"About a million people die instantly. God forbid us to use this weapon," added Lukashenko, who has ruled Minsk since 1994.
