Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich warned that a wider war could break out in Europe.
Volfovich, a best friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters Thursday that Belarus is involved in the “militarization of Poland” and its “aggressive intentions,” news firm BelTA reported.
Belarus used Russia as a base of operations to send missiles and troops to Ukraine, but did not participate directly in the war.
Tensions escalated last month, with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko vowing to carry out strong deployments with Russian forces. This prompted the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to publicly urge Belarus not to join Russia’s war against Ukraine, warning that Kyiv would retaliate. if you did
Volfovich said Belarus is involved in threats to its security.
“As an outpost in the Eastern Europe region of collective security, Belarus has faced all situations and threats that demand security,” he said. “First of all, we are involved in the presence of the army on the territory of neighboring states and the rhetoric of the army of our neighbors. “
Volfovich warned NATO member Poland that if it unleashed “aggression,” the resulting war would affect not only the territory of Belarus, but all of Eastern Europe.
“The militarization of Poland and its competitive intentions are in the foreground: to the detriment of its own economic interests, the country [Poland] has opted for militarization, an increase in the number of armed forces, equipment,” he said, accusing Poland of fixing its attractions on Belarus.
“Nobody cares about Poles and their needs. But the goal of these moves is clear: to provoke aggression. Unleash aggression against whom? Naturally, the closest is the Republic of Belarus,” Volfovich said.
“Polish leaders will have to realize that if they unleash aggression, the war will not only affect the territory of Belarus. This will affect the other non-violent peoples of Poland and other countries, who do not forgive their political leaders for what they have done,” the official added.
Newsweek reached out to ministries in Belarus and Poland for comment.
Poles have increased their military spending since Putin introduced his full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The Polish government’s draft state budget, unveiled in August, calls for an unprecedented increase in defense spending to around $20 billion. At just over 3% of GDP, Poland’s defense budget for 2023 is more than triple its 2014 level, Janes de Noticia de Defensa reported. .
Volfovich also said that disorders in relations between Belarus and NATO’s neighbors will be resolved through negotiations “in a peaceful, civilized and democratic manner. “
“We deserve to come to the negotiating table, talk about problems and locate unusual ground. Unfortunately, this is something that political leaders in neighboring countries are reluctant to do. They are breaking all foreign treaties and hiding a kind of iron curtain. “said. quoted saying.
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