Mozyr, April 14 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Belarus possesses highly-enriched uranium, stored under the International Atomic Energy Agency's control.
"Honestly, we have remained in possession of highly enriched uranium, hundreds of kilograms of actual weapons-grade and less enriched uranium," Lukashenko said in the Gomel region on Wednesday.
"Some tell me, get this uranium removed. To America, we’ll pay you, or to Russia. I say: First, why are you telling us what to do? This is our commodity and we keep it under IAEA control," the Belarusian president said.
"Then again, we are not going to make dirty bombs and we are not going to sell it to anyone. We are using this uranium for research purposes," he said.
"I was driven to the bay with a knife at my throat: ‘Give it away!’ I said: I had already given away nuclear weapons, and how did we benefit? No one has the right to dictate. Let us sit down at a negotiating table and decide how to deal with this large amount of enriched uranium," Lukashenko said. "We are not a banana republic and we can keep this nuclear material as we have been doing for 20 years now," Lukashenko said.
"Okay, they told me. Since you don’t want to give this uranium away, we’ll not invite you to the nuclear security summit. I said, ‘Thank you very much. I was not going to go.’ When Israel did not want to be asked questions about nuclear weapons, it just waved its hand to them. Bye-Bye! I don’t care for your summit! My answer was about the same," he said
"This suggests that neither Americans, nor the West in general can be trusted," he added.
"If we had nuclear weapons, they would have dealt with us differently. Minsk would have been given security guarantees and assured that it would be under the protection of these nuclear powers. No security guarantees are being given to us now," he said.
"We are going to deal with them only in a solid way, as partners, however hard Americans may be trying to pressure us on one side and Russia on the other. Regarding nuclear security, we are very reliable and responsible partners for any country. And we will remain like that," the Belarusian president said.
Getting back to Belarus not being invited to the Washington summit, he said, "It was silliness and blunt inertia."
"If Russia had indeed been a reliable friend, if Russia and Kazakhstan and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which attended the summit, had been reliable friends, they would have said this: ‘Belarus is one of us, it must attend.’ And Americans would have complied. It looks like Russia does not particularly need us. Everyone wants to be a monopoly in a way," he said.
"But we’ll get over it. I will. Quietly. I, for one, find it more enjoyable to talk with you here on the bank of the Pripyat, than to sit sweating in Washington," Lukashenko said.
