Late last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pledged that Minsk would “react without warning” to any attempt aimed at violating the country’s western borders.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Minsk and Moscow will use a joint group of armed forces if someone starts “twitching” on the western border of the Union State of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
He referred to his recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two discussed the issue.
At the same time, the Belarusian president noted that the core of the joint group will consist of his country’s army and that both Minsk and Moscow will be ready to pacify any adversary without hesitation.
The statement followed Putin’s interview with the broadcaster Rossiya 24, in which the Russian president specifically touched upon the ongoing protests in Belarus following Lukashenko’s re-election.
Alexander Lukashenko addresses a rally of supporters in Independece Square in Minsk, Belarus, on Sunday, August 16
Putin said that Moscow and Minsk have reached a deal stipulating that the Kremlin will provide law enforcement reserves in accordance with Russia’s obligations in the two’s defence sphere, should the situation in Belarus begin to spiral out of control.
Earlier that day, Lukashenko underscored that putting the army on combat alert and deploying troops on the country’s western borders was his main decision in 25 years.
He also accused Western nations of directly interfering in the situation in his country, citing attempts to prod Belarus to sit down for talks with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which he said is all “about financing”.
Additionally, Lukashenko accused NATO members of providing “evident” military support for the destabilisation of the situation in Belarus.
The remarks were made amid the current political crisis in Belarus, which was sparked by mass protests-turned-riots in Minsk and beyond on the evening of 9 August, when the official results of the presidential election showed that incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was winning a landslide victory with over 80 percent of the vote.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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