Ryzhenkov: Union State security guarantees should be mutual

Security guarantees in the Union State should be mutual, said Belarus’ Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov when asked to comment on the treaty on security guarantees of the Union State to be signed today

In particular, the Foreign Minister pointed out that, “Initially, the idea was that Russia should give security guarantees to Belarus, but since we live in the Union State and are partners, close allies, and brothers, these guarantees should be mutual. That is the spirit our treaty is built upon. The concept it’s been based on from the start is that if we support each other, we do that with every weapon we have.”

“Including the Oreshnik?” the journalist asked.

“Looks like that,” was Mr. Ryzhenkov’s answer.

The reporters reminded him that President Lukashenko had mentioned possible Oreshnik deployment in Belarus. On the side-lines of the recent CSTO summit in Moscow, the Belarusian leader said the new Russian missile had quite an impact on the global community. When the journalist next asked him how important that was for the Union State security, Aleksandr Lukashenko said with a smile, “Naturally. I asked the older brother [meaning Russian President Vladimir Putin]: ‘The places for deployment are ready. When?’ ‘We’ll think about it’ [was Putin’s response].”

“Was that a joke that’s not entirely a joke?” was the next question for the Foreign Minister.