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Belarus
Nuclear-weapon host state (?)
Hosts Russian nuclear weapons (?)
Has not yet joined the TPNW
Status
Belarus has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
Belarus has consistently abstained from voting on an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2022, the minister of foreign affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, said: “Supporters of the international codification of norms aimed at a complete ban on nuclear weapons, who initiated the development of the [TPNW], no doubt were guided by a noble goal. However, let’s be realistic – has this led to significant shifts in the field of nuclear disarmament?”
“The question is rhetorical,” he added, “given that all countries without exception that possess nuclear weapons continue to remain outside the framework of the TPNW. It is naïve to believe that this will happen in the foreseeable future.”
Nuclear weapons in Belarus
In 2022, voters in Belarus approved a new national constitution that removed the country’s previously enshrined commitment to neutrality and the absence of nuclear weapons from its territory. The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said that “if necessary” the country would host Russian nuclear weapons “in order to defend our territory”.
In June 2023, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, announced that “the first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus”, in order to deter western countries from arming Ukraine. However, this delivery has not yet been independently confirmed.
If true, it is the first time since the 1990s that Belarus has had nuclear weapons on its territory. Upon the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus inherited 81 Soviet nuclear warheads, which it subsequently transferred to Russia.
TPNW negotiations
Belarus did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.
In 2016, Belarus abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Prior to the adoption of the TPNW in 2017, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive, globally applicable treaty prohibition. Belarus supported calls in the UN General Assembly fill this “legal gap”.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon host state (?)
Hosts Russian nuclear weapons (?)
Has not yet joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
Status
Belarus has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
Belarus has consistently abstained from voting on an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2022, the minister of foreign affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, said: “Supporters of the international codification of norms aimed at a complete ban on nuclear weapons, who initiated the development of the [TPNW], no doubt were guided by a noble goal. However, let’s be realistic – has this led to significant shifts in the field of nuclear disarmament?”
“The question is rhetorical,” he added, “given that all countries without exception that possess nuclear weapons continue to remain outside the framework of the TPNW. It is naïve to believe that this will happen in the foreseeable future.”
Nuclear weapons in Belarus
In 2022, voters in Belarus approved a new national constitution that removed the country’s previously enshrined commitment to neutrality and the absence of nuclear weapons from its territory. The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, said that “if necessary” the country would host Russian nuclear weapons “in order to defend our territory”.
In June 2023, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, announced that “the first nuclear warheads were delivered to the territory of Belarus”, in order to deter western countries from arming Ukraine. However, this delivery has not yet been independently confirmed.
If true, it is the first time since the 1990s that Belarus has had nuclear weapons on its territory. Upon the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Belarus inherited 81 Soviet nuclear warheads, which it subsequently transferred to Russia.
TPNW negotiations
Belarus did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.
In 2016, Belarus abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Prior to the adoption of the TPNW in 2017, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive, globally applicable treaty prohibition. Belarus supported calls in the UN General Assembly fill this “legal gap”.
Further information
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International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War