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Nuclear Last updated: February, 2013

When Belarus gained independence in December 1991, there were 81 road-mobile SS-25s on its territory stationed at three missile bases, and an unknown number of tactical nuclear weapons. During the 1980s, a number of units equipped with intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) were also stationed in the Belarusian SSR; however, all of these weapons were eliminated under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty by 1991. In May 1992, Belarus signed the Lisbon Protocol, which obligated it to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear weapon state, which it did in July 1993, and to ratify the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which it did in February 1993. As a result of these commitments, Belarus transferred its nuclear weapons to Russia. The process of transferring tactical warheads was completed in May 1992, and the last strategic warheads and associated missiles were sent to Russia in November 1996. No nuclear forces have been stationed in Belarus since then, although the possibility of stationing Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus was broached by a number of Belarusian officials in the late 1990s.

Belarus has maintained a civilian nuclear research program under the aegis of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences. Belarusian scientists are currently working with experts from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to convert a booster subcritical assembly, housed at the Sosny facility, near Minsk, fromhighly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium. Belarus also pledged, in December 2010, to return its remaining stocks of fresh and spent highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to Russia before the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.[1] There is currently around 170kg of fresh HEU fuel stored at the Sosny Science and Technology Center near Minsk; approximately 44kg of this material is enriched to at least 90% U-235.[2] This material was provided by the Soviet government for use in Sosny's IRT nuclear research reactor, which was shutdown in 1989.[3] The U.S. government will provide both financial and technical assistance to expedite the process of returning the HEU to Russia.[4] In August 2011, Belarus suspended its pledge to transfer the HEU to Russia after the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Minsk in response to President Lukashenko’s violent suppression of political opponents. [5]

Since approximately 2005, Belarus has been actively laying the groundwork to construct a nuclear power plant in order to expand indigenous energy generation options. In May 2009, Belarus and Russia signed a cooperative agreement on the peaceful use of atomic energy, with Atomstroyeksport being chosen to construct the plant. The initial indication is that it will be located in the Astravets district of Belarus's Hrodno region, close to the Lithuanian border, with the first reactor due to become operational in 2016 and the second one to follow in 2018. Belarus had originally planned to offer a tender for the plant's construction but then decided to choose Atomstoyeksport in return for Moscow offering a loan to finance the project. However, as of December 2010, it remains unclear whether or not the project will go ahead due to financial disagreements with Russia and Lithuanian misgivings over the plant's potential environmental impact.

Belarus is a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. It has anIAEA safeguards agreement in place and in 2005 signed, though has not yet ratified, the IAEA Additional Protocol (INFCIRC 495). Minsk is also a party to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. For additional information on treaty commitments, see NTI's Inventory page on Belarus.

Sources:
[1] "Joint Statement by Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Martynov," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, 1 December 2010, www.mfa.gov.by.
[2] William C. Potter and Robert Nurick, "The Hard Cases: Eliminating Civilian HEU in Ukraine and Belarus," The Nonproliferation Review, Vol. 15, No. 2, July 2008, p. 241.
[3] William Potter, "Belarus Agrees to Remove all HEU," CNS Feature Story, 1 December 2010, cns.miis.edu.
[4] "Joint Statement by Secretary of State Clinton and Foreign Minister Martynov," Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, 1 December 2010, www.mfa.gov.by.
[5] Michael Schwirtz, "Belarus Suspends Pact to Give Up Enriched Uranium," The New York Times, 20 August 2011, www.lexinexis.com.

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This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.

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