Photo courtesy of TASS
MINSK, 21 May (BelTA) – Statements about the so-called Russia-Belarus threat seek to justify NATO's existence, Russian military observer of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, retired colonel Viktor Baranets said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA’s YouTube channel.
“Every time Belarus-Russia drills get underway in Belarus or Russia, they start yelling that Lukashenko and Putin have engaged in saber-rattling. Poland flies into a panic, their president loses sleep. Previously, these hypocrites only talked about the Russian military threat, but now - about the Russia-Belarus threat. I was once at the talks in Brussels and attended a big discussion. All NATO defense ministers talked about the Russian threat, claiming that Russia would attack the Baltics. And then amid the deafening silence Shoigu [former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu] said: “Guys, what's the point of sending troops to these Baltic countries? ‘Don't we have sprats, coal, potatoes, gas of our own?’ His statement was met with heavy silence,” said Viktor Baranets.
According to the military observer, the West's claims of an imminent Russia-Belarus military threat are aimed to justify the existence of NATO: “As soon as this so-called threat flies out of the window, NATO’s raison d'être disappears. Why would anyone allocate 2% of their GDP (now they are looking at 5%)?”
Viktor Baranets emphasized that, first of all, US President Donald Trump demands that NATO members increase their military spending. Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke out against increasing contributions to NATO. “But let them keep demanding. Let them demand not 5%, but 10%! And then people will carry them out into the street on rusty pitchforks. The people they will rob with these 5% or 10% contributions,” the expert remarked.
“Every time Belarus-Russia drills get underway in Belarus or Russia, they start yelling that Lukashenko and Putin have engaged in saber-rattling. Poland flies into a panic, their president loses sleep. Previously, these hypocrites only talked about the Russian military threat, but now - about the Russia-Belarus threat. I was once at the talks in Brussels and attended a big discussion. All NATO defense ministers talked about the Russian threat, claiming that Russia would attack the Baltics. And then amid the deafening silence Shoigu [former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu] said: “Guys, what's the point of sending troops to these Baltic countries? ‘Don't we have sprats, coal, potatoes, gas of our own?’ His statement was met with heavy silence,” said Viktor Baranets.
According to the military observer, the West's claims of an imminent Russia-Belarus military threat are aimed to justify the existence of NATO: “As soon as this so-called threat flies out of the window, NATO’s raison d'être disappears. Why would anyone allocate 2% of their GDP (now they are looking at 5%)?”
Viktor Baranets emphasized that, first of all, US President Donald Trump demands that NATO members increase their military spending. Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius spoke out against increasing contributions to NATO. “But let them keep demanding. Let them demand not 5%, but 10%! And then people will carry them out into the street on rusty pitchforks. The people they will rob with these 5% or 10% contributions,” the expert remarked.
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