Belarus-Russia: Switzerland calls for ‘urgent measures’ to reduce nuclear risks

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile being test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwest Russia on October 26, 2022. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service

Russia has announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, escalating a standoff with the West. Switzerland says urgent measures must be taken to reduce any risks linked to the weapons.

“A nuclear war can never be won and must never be waged,” tweetedExternal link Nicolas Bideau, head of communications at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), on Sunday.

“Switzerland is calling for urgent measures to reduce any risk relating to such weapons.”

NATO has criticised Vladimir Putin for “dangerous” nuclear rhetoric after the Russian president announced the plans on Saturday.

“Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said on Sunday.

“NATO is vigilant, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own.”

+ Explainer: What would a nuclear war look like?

Putin compared his Belarus plan on Saturday to the United States stationing its weapons in Europe, insisting that Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises.

Ukraine’s security chief, Oleksiy Danilov, said Russia’s plan would destabilise Belarus, which he said had been taken “hostage” by Moscow.

Others condemning Putin’s plan included Lithuania, which said it would call for new sanctions against Moscow and Minsk, while European Union policy chief Josep Borrell urged Belarus not to host the weapons and threatened more sanctions.

The Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said Russia’s plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus represent an “extremely dangerous escalation”.

+ Russian nuclear arms in Belarus a ‘dangerous escalation’, says Geneva NGO group

This increases the likelihood that such weapons will be used, the Nobel Prize-winning organisation said on SaturdayExternal link.  In the context of the Ukraine war, it “complicates decision making and increases the risk of miscalculation, miscommunication and potentially catastrophic accidents”.