Lukashenka: “NATO has gained foothold near Belarusian borders”

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has made a statement at the opening of the Security Council today. He spoke about “threats” of the NATO expanding and “deployment of US military bases in Eastern-European countries”.

The Belarusian ruler finds the existing architecture of the European security, saying that tensions in the European region are intensifying.

“The existing architecture of both global and European security has failed. The recent developments in the Caucasus were an indisputable proof of it,” he said.

As noted by him, “in general tensions in the European region are intensifying.” “New risks and threats both to the union state of Belarus and Russia, and to other brotherly states have become visible,” ne underlined.

As said by Lukashenka, “an additional factor of the West’s irritation is a growing role of Moscow on the international arena”.

“They do not like the independent policy of Minsk and the denial to cave in to the power players either,” Lukashenka said.

The Belarusian ruler has noted that “Georgian-South Ossetian conflict has become an indicator of changes on the continent.

It has become clear after it that the new treaty on European security is truly needed”. The President said that unfortunately the Russian proposals supported by Belarus to sign a new agreement on European security have not brought any serious response in the West.

“The efficiency of the international system of control over armaments and nonproliferation has been undermined in many things. We can say there is no system as such. An example is the fate of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.” The Belarusian head of state also reminded the participants that the Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms between the USA and Russia expires in 2009. A new similar agreement is not even in the pipeline.

“The world is on the verge of invention of brand new types of weapons including WMD,” A. Lukashenka said. Therefore Belarus brings an initiative to give non-nuclear states legally-binding security guarantees, the President said. According to the Head of State, the power balance in Europe has been disturbed, and not through Belarus’ fault. The US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty and the deployment of the anti-missile defence in the Czech Republic and Poland has heightened the tension. “NATO eastward expansion has become a tendency. The facts are the following: NATO military infrastructure has gained a footing near the Belarusian border. American military bases have been moved into Eastern European countries, the offensive potential of the bloc has been increasing,” the President said.

Moreover, as said by him, Ukraine’s accession to NATO is on the agenda. This process is being feverishly pushed. “In fact, the NATO makes new dividing lines in Europe and this course is unlikely to stop in global financial crisis conditions”.

“Certainly, rulers have started to rescue banks, large companies and investors now. But the strategic targets and doctrines haven’t been reconsidered, and attempts to force the world into the unipolar world will continue,” the president said. In this connection A. Lukashenka offered the session of the Security Council to discuss the tendencies forming in the world, and primarily to consider these issues “to strengthen the state and ensure its security”.

Besides, Lukashenka finds it necessary to consider the issue related to the creation of the “union state’s” “common anti-aircraft defence system on the western borders”.