LEPEL DISTRICT, 27 January (BelTA) – State Secretary of Belarus’ Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich spoke about how Western politicians sacrifice public welfare for militarization, BelTA has learned.
“The military and political landscape in the world is changing with great intensity. Against the backdrop of the historical struggle between the West and the East, conflicts are erupting, and major powers, especially the United States, violate all security architecture principles, dictate their terms and demonstrate that military might is the ultimate argument. The events in Venezuela, Iran, and other hotspots are telling. With political solutions ignored, military force is taking precedence. Unfortunately, Poland and the Baltic states prioritize militarization at the expense of their countries’ social and economic development. They boost defense spending, allocate huge funds to buy foreign weapons and military equipment. They also develop their military infrastructure at the expense of their citizens’ interests, preparing territory within 50 km of the border for combat operations,” Aleksandr Volfovich said.
The state secretary of the Security Council also pointed to the training ground under construction in Lithuania, set to be situated a mere 8 kilometers from the border with Belarus. “There are enough training grounds in Lithuania. The existing training grounds on the territory of these states are quite sufficient for conducting normal combat training of their military personnel. But that’s not enough for them. Instead of sowing an extra field, they build training grounds, bases, arsenals, and warehouses, deploy production of ammunition and unmanned aerial vehicles, that is, demonstrating anything but peaceful intentions. They have also withdrawn from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines and plan to mine this fifteen-kilometer zone. One can look at the tragic experience of Ukraine. How many civilians are blown up almost weekly in the border area on Ukrainian territory? We record all this. They want to create the same conditions in Poland and the Baltics. The population of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia sees this and conducts various strikes and demonstrations. But the politicians do not hear them because, unfortunately, they do not care about their own people. The leadership of these countries does not think about the common people; they only think about how to line their own pockets and follow the instructions of their overseas supervisors,” he emphasized.
Aleksandr Volfovich is convinced that this will lead to no good. “Unfortunately, our Western neighbors have forgotten the sad experience of the Great Patriotic War, what the Nazi machine led to, how much damage and misery it brought. Who liberated Europe, who cleansed it from the plague of fascism? Europeans have forgotten this. But history must be known. We remember our history, we value it,” he noted.
The state secretary also pointed out that the West sees perfectly well that Belarus’s Military Doctrine, National Security Concept, and Constitution are aimed at peaceful, good-neighborly coexistence and constructive dialogue with its neighbors. “We view our neighbors as a normal, friendly people and are trying to engage in dialogue. But, unfortunately, they do not want to forge a normal good-neighborly dialogue that would be economically beneficial for all. And who needs this rapid militarization? It is not aimed at ordinary citizens. People will not start eating better because of it; more food will not appear in stores because of it. Nor will there be more light industry products, clothing, or household appliances that people need. Ordinary people will have less and less money,” he stressed.
Aleksandr Volfovich also gave consideration to the actions of the Ukrainian leadership. “It must do everything in its power to stop the war and the death of its people, the long-suffering Ukrainian people. It does not think about this, and every day thousands upon thousands of Ukrainians die in this conflict. Not a single politician’s children fight on the front lines; that is why the war continues,” he emphasized.
To prevent war from coming to Belarusian soil, a number of measures are being taken. “The emphasis is not on increasing the size of the Armed Forces, not on damaging our country’s economy, but on the quality of soldier training. We adhere to the decisions made 30 years ago regarding the creation and development of the Armed Forces, other departments of the state’s military organization, and the size of the army. But we study the experience of other countries, we adopt new models of weapons and military equipment without harming our country’s economy. At the same time, we naturally rely on domestic models of weapons and military equipment, which are in no way inferior to foreign counterparts, on the quality of training, proficiency, and the ability to operate in various conditions (this is the main requirement for our military personnel and the task set by our commander-in-chief). And such sudden inspections are primarily aimed at ensuring that our military can protect our country and our national interests at any time, under any conditions. Nothing extraordinary, everything is according to plan,” the state secretary said.
As BelTA reported, a large-scale inspection of the Armed Forces on the instructions of the head of state began on 16 January. Aleksandr Lukashenko is personally monitoring its progress. A new system has been implemented that allows the president to directly place military units on combat readiness, circumventing the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. The main aim of these inspections is to gain an objective assessment. This is precisely why they are carried out without prior notice.
Photos by Vitali Pivovarchik/BelTA
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