CSTO summit in Moscow

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Moscow on 16 May.

“Today’s meeting is taking place in complicated times just like Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] has just said. A time for redividing the world. A unipolar world order is permanently becoming a thing of the past. However, the collective West is fiercely fighting to preserve its positions. All means are employed, including in the responsibility area of our organization. Starting with the rattling of NATO weapons near our western borders and ending with a full-scale hybrid war that has been launched against us, primarily against Russia and Belarus,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He pointed out that NATO is aggressively beefing up its muscles and pulling recently neutral countries – Finland and Sweden – into its nets. “It acts in accordance with the principle ‘You're either with us or against us’. It hypocritically continues to declare its defensive nature. The truly defensive and peace-loving stance of the Collective Security Treaty Organization contrasts with that,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that the USA’s military presence is being built up at the western flank of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the military infrastructure is being modernized fast, and multiple NATO exercises are being held. “The massive exercise Defender Europe 2022 is taking place in the territory of 19 European countries, including near our borders in Poland (we’ve never seen such a thing before). You can guess who they defend from,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also said that a force of about 15,000 military personnel was deployed at the Belarusian-Polish border last year under the pretense of the migration crisis. “In addition to permanently stationed troops over there. 15,000 were redeployed last year. Primarily Americans,” he explained. “The migrants went away a long time ago but the troops are still there. One wonders why.”

“It is obvious that today no country represents a threat to the North Atlantic bloc. Moreover, an additional force has been relocated to reinforce the eastern flank of the alliance in addition to the 15,000 people taking part in the USA’s military operation Atlantic Resolve and NATO’s allied forces operation Enhanced Forward Presence in Poland and the Baltic states. Over 10,000 military personnel. If, let’s say, there were 3,500 troops in this location seven years ago, there are about 40,000 now. Right there in the territory of Poland and the Baltic states. I am not talking about Ukraine for now. And here our military interaction within the framework of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Belarus’ membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization act as stabilizers, which provide a certain sobering effect on hotheads on the other side of the border. It is an example that testifies that without that a hot war would be in Belarus’ territory already. By the way, they tried to arrange it in 2020,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.