MINSK, 25 January (BelTA) – By staging the military exercise Allied Resolve 2022 together with Russia, Belarus does not intend to whip up tensions but demonstrates readiness to respond under any circumstances. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the relevant statement at a meeting with representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on 25 January, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed: “Don't think that we whip up tensions but if something happens, we should be ready for anything.“
The president mentioned the planned nature of the upcoming Belarusian-Russian army exercise and the fact that the exercise coincides with the measures Belarus is taking to reinforce its southern borders, to where additional army units have been sent. “I am forced to do it because the situation at the border with Ukraine is as bad as the situation at the border with Poland,” Aleksandr Lukashenko explained. He added that attempts to smuggle weapons and ammunition had been repeatedly stopped at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. “It is good that we've apprehended the bastards but what if we didn't?” the president wondered.
The Belarusian leader stated: “To my great regret, things are complicated between us and Ukraine. And we have to promptly deploy the relevant forces over there in order to cover nearly 1,500km of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, a huge length. And our work that we made plans for a long time ago coincided with the army exercise that back in 2021 we and Putin agreed to hold in the south.”
“We need it, not Russia. As a result of this military exercise we will see where and what units we have to concentrate,” the head of state said.
As a positive thing he noted that the military infrastructure Belarus had inherited from the Soviet Union has not been destroyed. On the contrary, it has been preserved and is in demand today. The military installations near Luninets that the head of state has visited recently can serve as an example of that.
“And then why does anyone need to know with whom, where, when?” the president wondered in response to wild speculations regarding the Belarusian-Russian army exercise. “Do we stage the exercise illegally?”
“It is a demonstration of our strength. They should see that we are not alone and that we will defend ourselves if we have to,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
“I emphasize one more time: don't think that we are the ones whipping up the tensions, that we need this war. We don't need it. But if something happens, we and our military should be ready for anything,” the Belarusian leader concluded.
