NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg to Putin: Belarus Is Sovereign and Independent State

No one, including Russia, should interfere in the situation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belarus.

"We urge Russia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state, Belarus," he said on Thursday, August 27, in an interview with the news agency Reuters (translated - dw.com).

Besides, Jens Stoltenberg openly urged Russia not to interfere in the situation in Belarus. This is his most powerful statement since the presidential elections on August 9 in the country, reports polsatnews.pl.

"Nobody, including Russia, should interfere. Belarus is a sovereign and independent state" he stated in the interview with German Bild newspaper.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO respects the sovereignty of Belarus and does not augment its military presence near its borders. It is up to the Belarusian people to decide the future of their country, emphasized the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance.

Power Reserve for Belarus

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that at Lukashenka's request, Russia had formed a reserve of law enforcement officers, who may be called upon in Belarus to support the current government. Russian law enforcement officers will be sent to Belarus only if the unrest in that country gets out of control, Putin said. This is the strongest signal so far about Russia's readiness to use force in Belarus.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki demanded in harsh terms

from Russia to abandon force intervention in Belarus. "The Polish government calls on Russia to immediately withdraw from plans of military intervention in Belarus under a false excuse of 'restoring control' - a hostile act, in breach of international law and human rights of Belarusian people, who should be free to decide their own fate," Morawiecki wrote on Twitter.