Posted:
09.12.2024 10:37:00
Belarus’ Defence Minister aide on military diplomacy and international relations
Valery Revenko, Assistant to the Defence Minister for Foreign Military Co-operation, talked to STV TV channel about the work of military diplomats, the electoral campaign launch, and the development of Belarus' international relations, sb.by reports
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“Representatives of six NATO countries are stationed in Minsk. Why, you ask? They are points of contact, that’s how we share opinions on certain events. We explain that it’s not a threat, that a certain procedure is in place. Likewise, the foreign diplomats explain their position to us. By the way, they are extremely interested in security guarantees. We say ‘no worries, there will be guarantees’. Likewise, we request information from them on certain political or military decisions made abroad. That is what’s going on; otherwise, there would be nothing interesting for us, no dialogue. Of course, it’s a diplomatic, curated dialogue. We’re not going to tell each other any secrets,” said Mr. Revenko.
If a foreign diplomat acts in ways that are incompatible with the established rules, he can be made to leave the country.
“In 2020, we told one Western diplomat that his behaviour breaks the international convention. He was given 48 hours to leave Belarus. Recently, we had a very good conversation with another military diplomat stationed in the Republic of Belarus: we informed him clearly about our laws, our electoral system, told him he shouldn’t get involved in certain processes and should act in line with norms and rules established for military diplomats in the Republic of Belarus,” the expert elaborated.
The electoral campaign has launched in Belarus. This event, so fateful for our country, also draws attention from other states, including NATO members.
“The intensity of NATO activities remains the same. Threats change. First and foremost, those are threats from some of our neighbours who set up illegal paramilitaries, some made of Belarusian citizens who, after leaving the country for different reasons, couldn’t build lives for themselves in the West. Unfortunately, our neighbours’ governments help them organise into some sort of armed units. They are already coming up with threats of aggression against the Republic of Belarus. Yes, it is a real threat. We are keeping it in mind. We are ready to counter all those threats in a most decisive manner,” continued the Defence Ministry official.
At the same time, Belarus is successfully building foreign relations. Mr. Revenko revealed some details, saying, “Whom do we have good relations with? The African countries. This year, the Defence Minister of Equatorial Guinea came to us with an official visit. We are co-operating very closely with Zimbabwe; our bilateral military co-operation action plan has been implemented fully. Iran is our Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) partner. In that context, our bilateral relations are developing successfully. Regarding other SCO countries, I would like to mention Pakistan. Our President was there with an official visit; some agreements have been reached, in particular regarding areas for future co-operation development. Soon, our Defence Minister will be in Vietnam with an official visit; there are some agreements that will be announced by defence ministers of both countries.”
“Representatives of six NATO countries are stationed in Minsk. Why, you ask? They are points of contact, that’s how we share opinions on certain events. We explain that it’s not a threat, that a certain procedure is in place. Likewise, the foreign diplomats explain their position to us. By the way, they are extremely interested in security guarantees. We say ‘no worries, there will be guarantees’. Likewise, we request information from them on certain political or military decisions made abroad. That is what’s going on; otherwise, there would be nothing interesting for us, no dialogue. Of course, it’s a diplomatic, curated dialogue. We’re not going to tell each other any secrets,” said Mr. Revenko.
If a foreign diplomat acts in ways that are incompatible with the established rules, he can be made to leave the country.
“In 2020, we told one Western diplomat that his behaviour breaks the international convention. He was given 48 hours to leave Belarus. Recently, we had a very good conversation with another military diplomat stationed in the Republic of Belarus: we informed him clearly about our laws, our electoral system, told him he shouldn’t get involved in certain processes and should act in line with norms and rules established for military diplomats in the Republic of Belarus,” the expert elaborated.
The electoral campaign has launched in Belarus. This event, so fateful for our country, also draws attention from other states, including NATO members.
“The intensity of NATO activities remains the same. Threats change. First and foremost, those are threats from some of our neighbours who set up illegal paramilitaries, some made of Belarusian citizens who, after leaving the country for different reasons, couldn’t build lives for themselves in the West. Unfortunately, our neighbours’ governments help them organise into some sort of armed units. They are already coming up with threats of aggression against the Republic of Belarus. Yes, it is a real threat. We are keeping it in mind. We are ready to counter all those threats in a most decisive manner,” continued the Defence Ministry official.
At the same time, Belarus is successfully building foreign relations. Mr. Revenko revealed some details, saying, “Whom do we have good relations with? The African countries. This year, the Defence Minister of Equatorial Guinea came to us with an official visit. We are co-operating very closely with Zimbabwe; our bilateral military co-operation action plan has been implemented fully. Iran is our Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) partner. In that context, our bilateral relations are developing successfully. Regarding other SCO countries, I would like to mention Pakistan. Our President was there with an official visit; some agreements have been reached, in particular regarding areas for future co-operation development. Soon, our Defence Minister will be in Vietnam with an official visit; there are some agreements that will be announced by defence ministers of both countries.”
Mr. Revenko added that all talks of Belarus' international isolation are firmly in the past.
"The number of international co-operation events grew another 15-20 percent this year," he said.
