Defence Ministry: crisis international situation surrounds Belarus

Colonel Valery Revenko, the Chief of the International Military Co-operation Department, Assistant to the Defence Minister for Foreign Military Policy, has met today with the defence attaches of foreign states accredited to Belarus’ Defence Ministry, noting that the issues of building and development of the armed forces of any state need many factors to be taken into account, and the existing military-political situation is among the most important of them

“In 2022, we witnessed a sharp aggravation of the military-political situation around the Republic of Belarus, and in the Eastern European region as a whole. Extremely negative trends continue in 2023. Last year, the geopolitical confrontation between the centres of power – the collective West and the Russian Federation – reached an unprecedented level: the world faced the threat of another world war. Military force, unfortunately, remains a decisive tool for the settlement of interstate contradictions,” Mr. Revenko stated.

According to the colonel, the negotiation process is no longer considered as an international tool for conflict resolution. Meanwhile, the agreements concluded, ostensibly aimed at a truce and the search for compromises, serve as a cover for preparing for a large-scale war.

“This is evidenced by the statements of some European politicians regarding the Minsk agreements concluded to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Such an approach will greatly influence the further building of relations between various subjects of international law. In general, we characterise the emerging international situation around the Republic of Belarus as a crisis, which is implying the presence of direct threats to the country’s military security. These threats are primarily related to the accelerated large-scale militarisation of the European continent and a progressive build-up of the foreign military presence near our borders,” Mr. Revenko added.

Already, more than 60,000 US troops equipped with modern strike weapons are permanently stationed in Europe, as well as about 34,000 NATO soldiers as part of the so-called strengthening of the eastern flank of the alliance and ongoing operations and missions in Eastern Europe, of which over 22,000 are concentrated directly in Poland and the Baltic States.

“In fact, conditions have been formed under which, on the basis of the already deployed military units and subdivisions of the NATO united armed forces, strike groups of troops can be created in the shortest possible time for their use towards the Belarusian direction,” Mr. Revenko stressed.