MINSK, 11 February (BelTA) – The future prospects of the treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (START III) are dim, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he addressed the 6th Belarusian People's Congress on 11 February, BelTA has learned.
“The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has been terminated. The prospects for the Open Skies Treaty are extremely bleak. There is some hope that a halt will be put to this spiral and military and political tension given the last-minute agreement between Russia and the United States to extend the Strategic Offensive Arms Treaty. However, the new president of the United States might again cancel it. Belarus, of course, supports the positive effect of this agreement, but the prospects for START III are absolutely vague," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
According to him, NATO has been building its permanent presence in the region, including on the territories adjacent to Belarus, under the guise of the principle of rotation. As a result, the level of foreign military presence in the region is not transparent at all, the Belarusian leader believes.
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe has been suspended as “the Democrats came to power [in the United States],” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
"They are openly discussing plans to repel a mythical threat from the East. We are first in the East, Russia goes next. The West has long forgotten its promise that the alliance's infrastructure would not expand eastwards. I have witnessed these promises made. I participated in those events," he said.
"What's next? A new arms race? 100%. Third world war?" Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
