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FM: NATO’s active militarization in the region poses a special threat to Belarus

Photo courtesy of Reuters

MINSK, 26 February (BelTA) – NATO’s active militarization in the region poses a special threat to Belarus, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov said as he addressed the high-level segment of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on 26 February, BelTA has learned.

“For Belarus, which borders NATO, the situation with the active militarization of this Organization in the region poses a special threat,” Maksim Ryzhenkov said.

He drew the attention of the participants of the meeting that Lithuania's military expenditures in 2024 amounted to more than 11% of the country's state budget. And if Lithuania directs 7% of GDP to military expenditures, as NATO wants today, it will take almost a quarter of the state expenditures.

“And our other neighbor, Latvia, will have to increase its military expenditures to a third of the state budget. It would be good if this digital equilibrium were seen and realized by the citizens of these states. Then they would understand why healthcare and education services are so expensive and why the social and public infrastructure of their countries is in decline. We as the neighbor of these countries, can see it very well,” the diplomat said.

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