Belarus opposes Russia’s military presence, Russia agrees

Lukashenka’s statement about Belarus’ disagreement with the permanent Russian military presence in the country has not caused objections in Russia. Belarus continued to implement an independent foreign policy in parallel with strengthening allied relations with Russia.

Lukashenka made his statement about Belarus’ disagreement with the deployment of a Russian military base during the meeting with US analysts. According to Lukashenka, Belarus was capable of independently complying with her defence and allied commitments to Russia. He said, “…our military men are capable of effectively resisting, if necessary, any aggression and conflict in Belarus. Because we are on our own land. We are able to perform the tasks entrusted by the agreement with Russia. If we could not, believe me, we would have turned ourselves to Russia so that they ensured security for us. So far, there is no such need”.

Simultaneously, Lukashenka expressed concern over regional escalation, including military, and spoke against the US permanent military presence in Poland (“Fort Trump”). According to him, Belarus was doing everything to relieve tension in the region and was supportive of strengthening the Euro-Atlantic partnership.

Russian Ambassador Babich agreed with Belarus’ position on the Russian military presence: “The President of Belarus is absolutely right, today, combat capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces, the Belarusian Armed Forces are sufficient to repel any hostile aggression. No need to do anything in today’s situation”.

Overall, Belarus continued to implement an independent foreign policy in parallel with strengthening allied relations with Russia.