Events

The Belarusian head of state said that many countries are discussing the forthcoming Belarusian-Russian army exercise Zapad 2017, which will take place in Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko said: “Today I received a letter from a group of U.S. congressmen, including the famous [John] McCain, who searches for democracy in Belarus. The letter complains that we’ve apprehended someone here and so on and so forth. These people raised the matter of the army exercise among other things. They say it represents some kind of danger to them. What about NATO’s increased activities near our borders? Russians love saying it is happening near Russian borders. Well, if it’s Kaliningrad they are talking about, then I agree. But one has to understand that it is primarily happening near Belarusian borders. I want Europeans, NATO countries, and the United States to understand that we once created the joint army force in Belarus and in western Russia as a counterbalance to that. We are not going to attack anyone, we don’t need that. And we are not capable of waging a war on the entire world. Putin and I understand it perfectly. But we will stand our ground. This is why they have to understand us.”