MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) – Escalation of tensions along Belarusian borders is unacceptable, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he delivered his Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly in Minsk on 28 January, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that Poland has long been trying to realize its leadership ambitions in Eastern Europe. But, according to him, Poland sees leadership not as responsibility and the opportunity to be a bridge in the region, but as a confrontation with Russia, including through interference in the internal affairs of its neighbors.
"They act categorically and unceremoniously. They financed and supplied resources to the radical opposition in Belarus, and worked for years to set up coordination centers for the recent coup attempt. Interfering with our affairs would seem understandable as they view Belarus as ‘their land'. But they tried to do so in Russia. It is clear: Russia is the enemy and it is impossible to defeat Belarus without defeating Russia. More so they got their hand even in the events in Kazakhstan! What do they need there?” the president asked. “In the hope of revenge, Poland sheltered the self-exiled opposition figures from Belarus, is setting up an infrastructure to support them. But that's not even the biggest concern. Warsaw's unprecedented militarization, the military build-up, the plans to double the army strength... All these measures are unlikely to pursue peaceful goals.”
The head of state stressed that the position of Belarus is unequivocal: such an escalation along the borders is unacceptable. "This already happened in history 80 years ago, when Poland, together with Nazi Germany, participated in the division of Czechoslovakia. They have experience. Today Poland has Belarus in its crosshairs. They need ‘the whole of Belarus!' not just the Eastern Borderlands," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
