Lukashenka and Medvedev liked brandishing their arms at NATO’s border

After the display of troops at the joint Belarusian-Russian military exercise, Lukashenka and Medvedev stated their intention to continue holding army exercises similar to the West 2009.

Only thanks to Dmitry Medvedev such large-scale maneuvers West 2009 had become possible, Alyaksandr Lukashenka stated on Tuesday during the troop review at the airbase near Baranavichy, RIA Novosti informs.

“We’ve come close to holding such large-scale maneuvers several times but only thanks to Dmitry Medvedev we have managed to hold the joint maneuvers this year for the first time in the history of the Belarusian-Russian military taskforce,” Lukashenka said. “Without the decision of the President of Russia we would not have had such large-scale joint maneuvers,” he added.

“It is the first time we reached such a high level of military exercises,” the Belarusian leader noted.

He supported the decision of Medvedev to hold joint Belarusian-Russian army exercises in Belarus or Russia every two years by turn.

“The decision of the Russian president to hold joint exercises every two years by turn stands high,” Lukashenka said. “These exercises are colossal according to their scale. All military units I the Western direction have participated, including the Kaliningrad Region, Ashuluk and to Moscow,” he added.

Lukashenka has also noted the fact that apart from Belarusian and Russian military, the exercise involved units of the armed forces of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, which, he believes, means that other countries are interested in training their armed forces using the principles and the example of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia.

In his turn, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev stated that army exercises similar to the West 2009 will be held in Belarus or Russia every two years by turn, Interfax informs.

“We have agreed with Mr Lukashenka that such exercises will be held in Belarus or Russia every two years by turn,” Medvedev said.

“We hope that such exercises would be held in the future as only such army actions can perfect combat kills and create a reliable defense system for our countries and the union state,” the Russian leader emphasized.

He highly praised the joint exercises West 2009, which was held for the first time in 25 years.

“It is a successful beginning of our joint military actions,” he noted. He remarked that all these actions are meant to make the life in Belarus and Russia more comfortable, protected, contemporary and fitting people’s requirements and also meant to protect the Belarusians and the Russians in the best possible way.

He underlined that “on the other hand, such exercises allow defending our people at the highest level”.

“It is a sacred task of the state and our armed forces,” stressed Dmitry Medvedev.

Lukashenka and Medvedev have also held bilateral talks today. Their results are not disclosed yet.

Medvedev's spokeswoman Nataliya Timakova told to journalists that the results of the West 2009 army exercises were discussed during the bilateral talks. In particular, an agreement was reached that such exercises will be held once every two years alternately in Belarus and Russia.

Timakova added that during the talks the two presidents also discussed “the current agenda of the Belarusian-Russian relations”.

We remind that Zapad-2009 drills involve more than 12000 service personnel and some hundreds of units of military equipment. 6000 troops from Russia entered Belarus, which has never happened before.

The exercise will use 103 airborne devices (including 63 aircrafts and 40 helicopters), around 470 armoured fighting vehicles, 228 tanks, 234 self-propelled and towed artillery units, mortars and multiple launch rocket systems.

One of the aims of the exercises is armed conflicts liquidation. However, the democratic forces of Belarus are convinced that the exercises pose a threat to independence of Belarus.

A rally of protest against bringing Russian troops in Belarus with the slogan “No to Russian Occupation!” was held in Minsk on October 9. The rally was brutally dispersed, dozens were arrested and beaten up by riot policemen. According to human rights activists, the detained were tortured.

Before Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Belarus, Belarusian youth leaders Yauhen Afnagel and Zmitser Dashkevich sent an open letter to president of Russian Dmitry Medvedev. They wrote: “Bringing Russian troops into Belarus on the background of all above mentioned Russia’s domestic problems is a mistake, which repetition can lead to unpredictable consequences”.

“Don’t wake guerrillas in the Belarusians, Mr Medvedev! We call on you to respect our country, its people, its laws and build new relations with Belarus as with a neutral independent European state,” they stated in the letter.