Elmau, Germany (dpa) – G7 leaders have expressed “serious concern” about an announcement by Russia that it could transfer missiles with nuclear capabilities to Belarus.
In a joint statement issued on the second day of a three-day summit in the Bavarian Alps, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said they condemned “Russia’s unjustified use of nuclear rhetoric and signalling.”
“Russia must abide by its international commitments, including those which ban the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons,” the statement said.
“We urge Russia to behave responsibly and exercise restraint, and reiterate that any use of such weapons would be unacceptable and met with severe consequences,” it added.
The comments come after President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, his closest ally in the war against Ukraine, that Russia would deliver missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus in the coming months.
Notonetsk plant
Kiev, June 27, (dpa/GNA) – Around 500 civilians are still trapped in the Azot chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, the Moscow representative of the pro-Russian Luhansk separatists, Rodion Miroshnik, has told Russian national television.
It is not possible to verify this information independently.
According to Miroshnik, the civilians are unable to leave because a number of the exits to the plant are mined. Specialists are defusing the mines, he said, “so that these people can decide for themselves if they want to stay in the area of Severodonetsk or leave.”
GNA