Lukashenko offered Kazakhstan to join the "union state" of Russia and Belarus
Tokayev called it a joke and noted that Kazakhstan does not need nuclear weapons
Kazakhstan does not need to join the "union state" of Russia and Belarus, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Monday, May 29, calling the proposal of Alexander Lukashenko a "joke."
Source: DW
"The other day, Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko offered Kazakhstan to join the Union State. I appreciated his joke. I think that there is no need for this, as there are other integration associations, primarily the Eurasian Economic Union," Tokayev said.
"As for nuclear weapons, we don't need them because we have joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. We remain faithful to our obligations under these international documents," the President of Kazakhstan added.
At a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on May 24, Tokayev suggested that participants discuss the "delicate issue" of interaction within the organization in the presence of a special "union state" of Russia and Belarus.
"We have a Union State in the EAEU, which means that a unique precedent or phenomenon has been created in the world and political history, the creation of a state based on the formula: two countries are one state with a single legal, political, military, economic, monetary, cultural, and humanitarian space. With a single union government, a single union parliament. And, I'm sorry, even nuclear weapons are now one for two. How will we work in these conditions?" Tokayev said.
Later, Lukashenko, commenting on Tokayev's words, suggested that Kazakhstan join the union of Russia and Belarus.
"I do not think that Kassym Tokayev is worried about this. But if he is, then no one is against Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations as we have with the Russian Federation. And it's very simple: Belarus and Russia should join the union, and there will be nuclear weapons for everyone," Lukashenko said, emphasizing that he was expressing his opinion, not the official position.
Background. The defense ministers of Russia and Belarus recently signed an agreement on the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
