MOSCOW, 29 September (BelTA) – Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has acquired information about preparations for a high-profile provocation in Belarus. The relevant statement by SVR Director Sergei Naryshkin has been released by the SVR press service, BelTA has learned.
According to the source, instructors from the CIA and the Pentagon as well as from American non-governmental organizations, which are affiliated with the U.S. Department of State, are taking part in preparations for protests in Belarus. The preparations are going on in Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and other countries. “The USA uses the dirtiest methods to sway the situation in Belarus,” the SVR director said. “In work with the Belarusian opposition the Americans are shifting the focus of attention on making the opposition's radical nationalists more active. The Department of State is putting efforts into getting extremist elements involved in protest rallies.”
The SVR director also mentioned the USA's interference in the religious situation in Belarus. “According to the available data, the USA is also unceremoniously interfering in the religious situation in Belarus, trying to push representatives of the Orthodox branch and the Catholic branch of Christianity against each other,” he noted. “As they try to get the Vatican, which shows restraint for now, involved in Belarusian events, the Americans are working on getting Catholic priests more actively involved in antigovernment manifestations.”
“The clergy of the Roman Catholic Church are encouraged to openly speak up against Belarusian authorities and use religious events, including sermons, prayers, sacred processions, to spread the opposition's political propaganda among the believers,” Sergei Naryshkin pointed out. “Americans believe it will force the Belarusian government to crack down on the Roman Catholic Church. According to the available data, extremist opponents of the Belarusian government hide abroad and are conspiring to stage a high-profile provocation, during which a respected priest of the Roman Catholic Church may be arrested, injured, or even killed. They expect it to considerably heighten the antigovernment mood among Catholics and inspire them towards more active participation in street protests.”
