Lukashenko Slams NATO Exercises near Belarusian Borders as 'Provocative'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – NATO countries persistently promote the policy of the alliance's expansion and continue provocative exercises near Belarus' borders, the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting of the Security Council.
"NATO countries are persistently promoting the policy of their expansion, building up military presence around Belarus, constantly conducting provocative exercises on our borders," the BelTA news agency quoted the president as saying, TASS reported.
According to the president, they justify their actions with some threats allegedly emanating from the territory of Belarus.
"The leaders of Poland and the Baltic states accuse Belarus of some mythical aggressive intentions," Lukashenko said. According to him, in April Warsaw informed the states of its decision not to implement the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) with regard to Belarus.
"This is actually the last legally binding international act in the field of arms control. This is already a dangerous step. How should we react to all this?"
Lukashenko also pointed to the training of Belarusian militants on the territory of neighboring countries. "I am not talking about the training of our refugees on their territory to carry out a military coup in Belarus," the president said. "I'd like to warn once again that we will not spare anyone in this regard. However, we should note that our refugees who are in Poland, Lithuania, and especially in Ukraine understand what they are being used for there," Lukashenko noted.