CSTO summit in Yerevan

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the CSTO summit in Yerevan on 23 November.

At the venue of the CSTO Collective Security Council session, the Belarusian leader was welcomed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that challenges and problems facing the world were discussed at the SCO summit in Samarkand and later at the CIS summit in Astana. “We are no exception. Therefore, I believe that today’s meeting will continue the dialogue started in Samarkand and Astana. Now is the time to substantively discuss military and political cooperation, as well as security in the CSTO. These matters are becoming increasingly relevant. It is no coincidence that we have held four meetings this year, both via video link and in person. And so far, unfortunately, we don’t have many reasons for optimism,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He recalled that the unipolar world order is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past. “It is becoming a thing of the past for objective reasons, whether we like it or not. It is becoming history and will be gone eventually. This process is provoking an unprecedented crisis in the system of international relations with many hotbeds of tension around the globe. A number of these hotbeds, unfortunately, are in the European and Eurasian space, including in the CSTO area of responsibility,” the Belarusian leader noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the developments unfolding in Europe. According to him, the North Atlantic Alliance has made a final decision to pursue the anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian policy in the foreseeable future and has interrupted all contacts on its own initiative.

"Under the pretext of containing the allegedly aggressive Russia and its allies, the United States and other NATO countries have been systemically building up military presence near the western borders of the CSTO, i.e., near our borders. The West continues to deploy troops, weapons and military hardware to the eastern flank of NATO. The intensity of their operational and combat training activities is increasing. What is this, if not the setting up of a potential theater of operations,” the head of state said.

In this regard, the President called the recent decision to deploy a regional task force of Belarus and Russia a natural reaction to the existing challenges.

"Countries that strive to follow their own path of development and pursue an independent foreign policy course come under severe pressure. International organizations, including the UN, are also trying to put them under their control,” the Belarusian leader stated. “Spendings on weapons are growing at an unprecedented pace reaching terrible levels. NATO governments, instigated by Washington, are willingly spending billions on the supposedly growing threat from the East, while stimulating the U.S. military-industrial complex.

All this is happening against the background of concerns voiced by some representatives of these same countries about the impending problems in global food, energy and other security, Aleksandr Lukashenko said.