Lukashenko instructed to monitor movement of NATO and Polish troops
During his meeting with the Council of Ministers heads, the President commented upon the situation on the border and increased activity of NATO and Polish troops
“The Defence Ministry, the State Security Committee and border troops should ensure control over the movement of NATO and Polish troops. You see that there are 15,000 military servicemen already there, as well as tanks, armoured vehicles, planes and helicopters. They have taken these to our border – doing this brassily and without notice, although they are obliged to warn us under the agreements. You are personally responsible for the movement of troops in the cross-border region. You must see them and have counteraction plans, if something goes wrong. We are not deploying (I have not instructed you to do this) our Armed Forces but we must see and anticipate everything – so that we are ready if they arrange a war there on the border.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he had asked the Russian Defence Ministry – by the medium of their President – to join the duty on the western borders of the Union State.
“As I noted yesterday, they had sent strategic bombers there accompanied by our fighters. We must constantly monitor the situation on the border. Let them squeak and shout. True, these are bombers that are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, we have no other way out. We must see what they are doing there beyond. As we agreed: from Moscow to Gomel along the southern border of Belarus, the western border, to Postavy in the Vitebsk Region, and from Postavy to Moscow through Orsha. This ring – the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine – should be monitored by Russian and Belarusian servicemen. We have agreed on this with Russians. We cannot joke about it. The situation is serious over there. The key aspect is that agreements are neglected. We don't know what they want,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The President was reported: along with Russian Tu-22 aircraft, Su-30SM fighters of the Belarusian Air Force also patrolled the border area. “That's right. Russians, Belarusians must control this situation together,” the Head of State stressed.
