During a solemn gathering to commemorate Independence Day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Western politicians are pressuring Europe toward a nuclear showdown, the Belta news agency said.

"As in the years of the Great Patriotic War, traitors and collaborators were not many to put together 'liberation forces'. During the Great Patriotic War, such people were presented as Belarusian partisans fighting against the communist regime. For them, it all ended tragically, with a tribunal and a scaffold. For those who hid across the ocean and who were hidden there - with oblivion and disgrace. If someone wants to repeat it, it's their choice. Not the smartest, given the changed balance of power," Lukashenko said.

According to the Belarusian President, there is only one intrigue in this story. "Will Western politicians realize that they are pushing Europe to the nuclear showdown? Do they seriously think that they will get off with a small sacrifice - Vilnius and Europe? God forbid, the worst war in history will break out. It will be hot not only in Warsaw, Kiev, or Vilnius. We, Europe as a civilization, will disappear. But they don't need it. Neither do WE. Belarus and Russia are categorically not interested in such an outcome," he said.

Two weeks ago, Lukashenko announced that Belarus will have "no hesitation" to employ nuclear weapons in case aggression is perpetrated against the country. 

"I think it is unlikely that anyone would want to fight a country that has such weapons. These are weapons of deterrence. … God forbid I have to decide on the use of these weapons in modern times. But there will be no hesitation, as long as there is aggression against us," he said, according to Belta.

Belarus itself isn't a nuclear state, but Belarus and Russia agreed to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in special storage facilities in Belarus earlier this year. 

Lukashenko said this agreement followed his "urgent demands" to Moscow to guarantee Belarus' security, describing it as a "necessary" decision so that none may "set foot" on Belarusian soil. 

Western pressure and policies forced Belarus' hand when it came to deploying Russian tactical nuclear weapons, a senior Belarusian official said back in May.

The official said the weapons were withdrawn after the 1991 Soviet collapse, as the United States had provided security guarantees and imposed no sanctions. "Today, everything has been torn down. All the promises made are gone forever," the Belta reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in late March that Russian tactical nuclear weapons would be placed in Belarus, with the storage sites for weapons expected to be finished by July 1.

Minsk to set 'algorithm' for nuclear use in response to foreign attack

Belarus will establish a framework for the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to any external aggression on the country, President Alexander Lukashenko said during a ceremony on Tuesday to present shoulder boards to senior military officers, Belta reported.

Responding to a question on how Belarus will use its tactical nuclear weapons, which were previously deployed by Russia on condition that Moscow will remain in control of the atomic weapons, Lukashenko considered the weapons do not necessarily have to be in the country for them to be used to protect Belarus.

The Russian President, on his part, explained then that this move will be similar to the United States' deployment of some of its nuclear arsenal in Europe, further noting that Russia's action does not violate the nuclear nonproliferation agreements (NPT).

Lukashenko stressed that while Russia's storage facilities are in great condition, Belarus has even higher-quality facilities.

Earlier this month, Putin announced that Russia delivered the first set of nuclear warheads to Belarus.

Putin said during an address at the economic forum in St. Petersburg in mid-June that Russian nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus are of deterrent nature for those oblivious in the West who assume they can inflict on Russia a strategic defeat.