MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) – The invitation of foreign military press officers to the Belarusian border is a step towards transparency and openness, BelTA learned from Head of the International Military Cooperation Department, Aide for International Military Cooperation to the Belarusian Defense Minister, Colonel Valery Revenko during a trip to the Belarusian border in Malorita District, Brest Oblast.
Valery Revenko said: “The intense military political situation does not allow us to relax. We continue the inspection of the response forces and the fulfillment of tasks relating to the reinforcement of individual sections of the Belarusian border. All of it is happening amid threats, distorted information about our state, accusations of preparations for military and offensive actions. All of it is not so.”
In his words, by inviting the military press officers Belarus intends to dispel these rumors and fears. “Our foreign partners concoct all of that and circulate in mass media. We've invited 12 military press officers of other countries to visit this section of the border. Five of them are representatives of NATO countries. It is our step towards transparency and openness. We demonstrate that claims by representatives of individual countries are untrue,” Valery Revenko said.
This is why as of 20 June Belarus resumes verification activities within the framework of fulfillment of existing international treaties on arms control on parity basis. “Notifications about the resumption of activities have been sent to all the OSCE member states today. I hope it will send a signal about our transparency and openness to our partners. We expect them to reciprocate. We don't know whether they will,” the official said. He added that Belarus will take appropriate measures in the absence of reciprocal steps.
