According to him, Belarus has been a donor of security in the region, and it has always been appreciated for this. It will no longer be possible to make the state worse than it is now, and the West knows the reaction of Belarus to attempts to put Minsk “on the brink of the abyss,” Lukashenka said.
He added that, if necessary, Minsk would have to defend the country’s borders “as expected.” “And we can do it, we will do it. And I don’t even doubt it, ”concluded the President of Belarus.
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Lukashenka has already accused the United States of trying to “create a mess in Belarus” with the hands of the authorities of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. He claimed that his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin shared his vision of the situation.
On January 17, Lukashenka noted that 30,000 military men, along with equipment and weapons, are concentrated near the Belarusian borders with Poland and the Baltic countries. He also claimed that between 8,000 and 10,000 American servicemen are stationed in these states “on a rotational basis”.
A week later, on January 24, NATO announced that it was expanding its military presence in Eastern Europe, the countries of the alliance were deploying ships and aircraft there.
The decision was made against the background of the escalation of the situation around Ukraine. The United States and Western countries have accused Russia of preparing an “invasion” of that country. The Kremlin denied these allegations and said there were no plans for an attack. The concentration of troops near the Ukrainian border was explained in it by the need to take steps against the backdrop of increased NATO activity near Russian borders.