Russia not to deploy nuke weapons in Belarus : Lavrov

Moscow, Sep 4 (UNI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today denied any plans for the deployment of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Republic of Belarus, in response to the US considering the possibility of deploying elements of national missile systems in Europe.

''Belarus has its non-nuclear status fixed by its Constitution.

That settles the matter,'' Mr Lavrov told reporters.

Last week, Russian ambassador to Belarus, Alexander Surikov had announced that once the Union State of Russia and Belarus was established, Moscow would discuss with Minsk the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons.

Minsk, meanwhile, reacted cautiously to Mr Lavrov's statement.

''The issue has not been discussed yet, but we have high level of integration with Russia, including the military sphere. Moreover, Russian bases are already on our territory,'' Belarusian Foreign Ministry told mediapersons.

According to media reports, the Belarusian government had supported the idea of deploying nuclear weapons in the republic as it was uneasy with the growing US military presence in the Eastern Europe, and hoped for Russia's support and protection.

UNI