BISHKEK, 27 November (BelTA) – Activity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on western borders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was discussed at a joint session of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council, the Defense Ministers Council, and the Committee of Secretaries of Security Councils in Bishkek, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told BelTA.
CSTO Acting Secretary General Valery Semerikov informed those present during the session about the state of affairs on the perimeter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Vladimir Makei said: “He informed about the actions NATO has been taking recently on western borders of our organization. He cited specific facts.”
Vladimir Makei went on saying: “We've also singled it out as a topic of concern for Belarus. We don't see [NATO's] actions as a direct military threat. Nevertheless, we have to bear it in mind as we plan our military policy and the military and political strategy. As the Belarusian head of state stated, we will also take it into account in the course of developing adequate response measures.”
Summing up results of the session, the Belarusian minister of foreign affairs noted that a number of important matters concerning future operation of the Collective Security Treaty Organization had been discussed during the meeting. “We didn't pass any groundbreaking documents that would have riveted the attention of mass media and the general public right away, but for all intents and purposes we've passed a lot of technical documents, which will help improve the organization's work in various spheres and fields,” he said.
Those include fight against terrorism, the spread of illegal drugs, cyberbullying.
Participants of the session also discussed preparations for celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. “Against the backdrop of regular attempts to falsify history I think the plan, which we've preapproved today and which will be approved by the heads of state during the Collective Security Council session tomorrow, will promote our point of view on the date,” Vladimir Makei noted.
BelTA reported earlier that on 28 October Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko received a report from State Secretary of the Security Council Stanislav Zas, Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov, and Chief of the Central Intelligence Office, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Pavel Tikhonov. They informed the head of state about the evolving military and political situation in view of the deployment of NATO forces near the Belarusian border and preparations of NATO countries for the forthcoming exercise Defender Europe 2020.
“This is certainly an armored fist. We shouldn't downplay it. Yet, 30 tanks and 30 armored vehicles are a ridiculous force against the Belarusian army. We, as I often recall, have carried out four modernization programs of our army, as we were well aware of what kind of fists they could create near our borders, and what kind of enemy we could face, god forbid,” said the Belarusian leader. “We were preparing for this. So 30 tanks sound ridiculous for our army. We can even stand back and take no measures in response,” he added.
At the same time the head of state pointed out another fact. “Never before have they moved troops from across the ocean so defiantly close to our borders. It has never happened. I think it's a first for Lithuania. It is a precedent. That's my first point. My second point is that naturally we have to respond to such demonstrations. But we have to bear in mind that we shouldn't rattle our arms. We are a peace-loving nation, we do not want a war," the president said.
