Foreign Ministry: Ukraine’s conflict is used by West for global confrontation

Ukraine’s conflict looks local on a map only: it is actually used by the West for global confrontation – as stated by Belarus’ Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Aleinik, BelTA reports

Mr. Aleinik’s address to participants of the Collective Security in a New Era: Experience and Prospects of the CSTO conference – held today at the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow with the support of the Russian Foreign Ministry – was read out by Belarus’ Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative to the CSTO, Vyacheslav Remenchik.

"The conflict in Ukraine looks local only on the map. It is a trouble spot now – or rather a pretext for a global political confrontation," Mr. Aleinik said in his address, noting that some of the NATO members are actively arming Belarus' southern neighbour – allegedly doing this in preparation for repelling the so-called Russian aggression.

"At the same time, the alliance's forces and assets are being built up on our western borders and the military infrastructure is being modernised. The intensity and scale of operational and combat training activities of the NATO member states on the European continent are enhancing and, over the past year, the number of exercises of the coalition forces of the alliance’s members has more than tripled," Belarus’ Deputy Foreign Minister said.

In his opinion, the situation in the world and the regions of CSTO responsibility needs serios attention. "We are witnessing a progressive destruction of the systemic foundations of international and regional security. Trust is being replaced by confrontation, and dialogue – by accusatory rhetoric. International instruments in the field of arms control, confidence and security building measures continue to degrade. Against this background, the spiral of the arms race is being widening in Europe."