‘I Appreciate The Joke:’ Kazakhstan President Laughs Off Lukashenko’s Nuclear Alliance Offer

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), Azeri Presdent Ilham Aliyev (L), Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2L), Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan (2L), Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov (4L) enter the hall during enter the hall during the Supreme Economic Eurasian Council at the Grand Kremlin Palace on May 25, 2023 in Moscow, Russia. Leaders of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia gathered in Moscow for the events, hosted by Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). CONTRIBUTOR/BENZINGA

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has close historical ties with Russia, declined Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko’s offer of nuclear weapons for nations willing “to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus.”

Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko arrives for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. ILYA PITALEV/BENZINGA