Belarus Set to Amend Non-Nuclear Constitution Amid Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Sept. 9, 2021. (Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Belarus is set to make amendments to its non-nuclear constitution to allow for nuclear weapons after a referendum was held on Sunday amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Belarus Central Election Commission said that voter turnout stood at 78.61 percent, of which 65.2 percent voted in favor of the change.

The amendments give Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko the option to bring nuclear weapons back on Belarusian soil for the first time since the country gave them up after the fall of the Soviet Union, raising the stakes at a time when Lukashenko has thrown his support behind Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military assault on Ukraine, citing the need to protect the rights of Russian-speaking groups living in the east of the country. They also allow Russian troops to remain permenantly on Belarusian soil.

The West said that it would not recognize the results of the referendum taking place against the background of a sweeping crackdown on domestic opponents of the government.

Speaking at a polling station on Sunday, Lukashenko said he would ask Russia to return nuclear weapons back to Belarus if the West moves to arm its neighboring NATO countries.

“If you (the West) transfer nuclear weapons to Poland or Lithuania, to our borders, then I will turn to Putin to return the nuclear weapons that I gave away without any conditions,” he said.

Belarus handed its nuclear weapons over to Russia as part of the Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia gave assurances to respect the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in exchange for nuclear disarmament.

In a video message on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had a phone conversation with Lukashenko and explained to him “the impossibility of our clash.” The two leaders have not spoken in two years.

“I do not want missiles, planes, helicopters to fly to Ukraine from Belarus. I do not want troops to go to Ukraine from Belarus, and he assured me of that,” he said.

Zelensky said Sunday that Ukrainian officials will meet with their Russian counterparts for talks without prior conditions on the Ukraine-Belarus border.

He said that Lukashenko have given guarantees that “at the time of the departure, negotiations, and return of the Ukrainian delegation, all planes, helicopters, and missiles placed on the Belarusian territory will remain on the ground.”

The new constitution also give powers to the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, which was created by Lukashenko and populated by party loyalists, local councils, officials, and activists of pro-government organizations.

It also gives lifetime immunity from prosecution to the president once he leaves office and the option to extended his rule for a maximum of 40 years if elected, until 2035. His current term expires in 2025.

Rights activists claimed that the referendum sparked anti-war protests in several cities in Belarus, with at least 290 people detained.

Mass protests had erupted in 2020 following a disputed election that opponents say Lukashenko rigged. More than 35,000 people had been arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly, including victims of abuse, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said last year.

“Three opposition candidates were still behind bars, among the more than 530 people who Belarusian human rights activists considered to be imprisoned for their political views or activities,” the rights group said.

Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.