EU ready to respond to placing nuke weapons in Belarus with further sanctions — Borrell

 The European Union is ready to impose further sanctions if Russia deploys its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Sunday.

"Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons would mean an irresponsible escalation & threat to European security. Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions," he wrote on his Twitter account.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that the construction of a depot for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is expected to be completed on July 1. Moscow has already transferred to Minsk an Iskander system that can use nuclear weapons.