China renewed calls for de-escalation in Ukraine on Monday and reminded Russia of its recent opposition to nuclear war days after President Vladimir Putin announced plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus.
Putin told state television on Saturday that a storage depot for such weapons was being built at Minsk's request and would be completed by July. He didn't say whether the Russian weapons would be transferred to the country in the same month.
His comments—framed as a response to a similar posture adopted by the United States—appeared to undermine a position he took with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping just days earlier, when the two leaders reaffirmed their opposition to nuclear war and jointly opposed the deployment of nuclear weapons abroad during the latter's high-profile state visit to Moscow.
"In January last year, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states issued a joint statement noting that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, and stressed that war between nuclear-weapon states should be avoided and strategic risks reduced," Mao Ning, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing.
"Under the current circumstances, all sides should focus on diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and work together for de-escalation," said Mao.
In the Russia-1 TV broadcast, Putin preemptively dismissed concerns that his plans would violate Russia's nonproliferation obligations. Russia would not be giving strategic arms to Belarus, he said; instead, it would be deploying the weapons in an allied territory and transferring the equipment and know-how to use them.
Minsk said last month that it was autonomously operating Moscow-supplied nuclear-capable Iskander missile launch systems, which can reach deep into neighboring Ukraine and NATO member Poland.
"There is nothing unusual here either. Firstly, the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries," said Putin. It would be Russia's first deployment of nuclear weapons beyond its borders since the 1990s.
Three days before his state media appearance, Putin and Xi signed a lengthy joint communique to deepen the strategic alignment between their two countries. In the document, the leaders reaffirmed the January 2022 statement against nuclear war, which was signed by all of the "P5"—the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—just weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"All nuclear-weapon states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons abroad and withdraw nuclear weapons deployed abroad," Putin and Xi agreed.
"The two sides reaffirmed that the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons is the cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation system," they said. "The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the treaty and will continue to work together to maintain and strengthen the treaty and maintain world peace and security."
The line was followed immediately by their shared opposition to AUKUS, the trilateral pact that will see the U.S. and the United Kingdom jointly supply the hardware for Australia's first nuclear-powered submarine fleet by early next decade, as well as the technology for Canberra to deliver its own silent boats in the decade after that.
After it became clear that Russia's war in Ukraine would be a protracted conflict, Western leaders began to argue that China could help dissuade the Kremlin from using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield. In successive meetings with Xi late last year, European officials saw the Chinese president's willingness to oppose nuclear war as a positive sign, despite Putin's occasional saber-rattling.
Immediately after Xi's state visit to Russia, Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, told reporters that the trip "reduces the risk of nuclear war." Beijing made its opposition "very, very clear" to Moscow, he said.
On Sunday, Borrell tweeted: "Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons would mean an irresponsible escalation and threat to European security. Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions."
Tactical nuclear weapons are for use on the battlefield and are shorter range and much less powerful than strategic weapons, which can wipe out cities.
Kyiv has asked the U.N. Security Council to meet over Putin's announcement. The remaining members of the P5 had an obligation "to counter the nuclear threat from the Kremlin," Ukraine's foreign ministry said.
Washington's confidence in Putin's level of self-restraint was brought lower in February after he decided to halt Russia's participation in New START, the last remaining major arms control treaty. But it has responded cautiously to the news out of Moscow.
"We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told Newsweek on Sunday in a written statement.
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Update 03/28/03 at 7:54 a.m. ET with additional information
