Lukashenka On Russian Military Men In Belarus: These Are Our People

The dictator is not going to curtail the military cooperation with Russia.

Belarus is not going to curtail the military cooperation with Russia because of the disagreements in other areas. This was stated today by Lukashenka during the report of the plan of the joint strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia "West-2017", BelTA informs.

“I would like to underline specially for the mass media that, regardless of the opinions of some “experts”, no one is going to curtail the cooperation with Russia in the military sphere due to the occurred disagreements in other areas. On the contrary, this exercise is aimed at demonstrating our consistency in guaranteeing security of the two fraternal peoples,” — the ruler has said.

"No matter how our relations develop in the field of oil, gas, food, etc., all these issues appear resolveable. These are our issues, which should be solved between Belarus and Russia. However, in any case it remains unacceptable to joke with the security, defense of our common borders. This is not subject to any kind of trade," — the dictator has stressed.

According to him, the international situation obliges to continuously improve the skills and the level of the regional group of forces to protect the western borders of the "union state". "The upcoming exercise is the best way to test the readiness of servicemen of the two countries for interaction. Thus, we are strengthening our common defensive capability and will continue to do so further on,” — the ruler has noted.

Lukashenka has reminded that many years ago Belarus and Russia agreed to hold such exercises in turn at the territory of one and the other state, now it is the turn of Belarus.

The ruler has also noted that a powerful group of the Armed Forces, based on the Belarusian army, has been created in the western direction by Belarus and Russia. "In the event of a conflict, God forbid, there is a definite plan for conducting military operations by the Belarusian Armed Forces, which will be immediately reinforced by the relevant Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," — the dictator has said. "We have never concealed from anybody and do not conceal it now — in peacetime, we must keep the powder dry."

Lukashenka has also tasked the Minister of Defense to report on the state of affairs in the Belarusian army, on the existing problems and the ways to resolve them this year. "Realizing that the upcoming exercise is an important event in the preparation of the armies of the two states, I would like to see the overall assessment of the effectiveness of the bilateral military cooperation with Russia," — Lukashenka has said. — For me, this remains important also in the view of the possible meeting of the Supreme State Council. If there are any problems, I would like to be able to designate them before the leadership of Russia and to draw attention to more effective cooperation within the framework of our agreements on the defense of the "union state".

"The arrival and stay of the Russian troops at our territory should leave only positive emotions in the memory of the officers and soldiers, our guests. These are our people. We stand for our defense and security together," — the dictator has added.