Opinions & Interviews
Belarusian defense minister describes situation in western direction as tense, complicated
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MINSK, 26 December (BelTA) – The military and political situation in the western direction is tense and complicated. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin made the statement on the air of the First News TV channel, BelTA has learned.
Viktor Khrenin said: “One can describe the situation [in the western direction] as tense, inclined towards radicalization, and complicated. We see it in the actions that originate primarily from the leaders of the neighboring countries that are unwilling to understand that it is necessary to reduce military tensions. The tensions are rather high. Primarily in the information field. But the actions taken by the leaders of the neighboring countries indicate that and they don’t hide that preparations for a war are in progress. Russia is a threat for them. It is understandable. So is Belarus. We have the Union State [of Belarus and Russia]. They will fight against us.”
As an example he mentioned statements about the eagerness of Poland’s leaders to create the most powerful army. “The German leadership has recently made a statement as well. They also say that they would like to create a mighty army. You know the situation resembles the one we had on the eve of World War Two. Poles competed with Germans back then, too. Historians have already evaluated these matters. One also wonders who aspires for regional leadership. The French have ‘distinguished themselves’. The Baltic states with their aggressive leaders are keeping up. Well, they also take steps by allocating over 5% of the GDP [for defense]. It already indicates that it is a prewar budget. This is why we don’t think these are empty words or some bluff from these politicians,” the defense minister noted.
Viktor Khrenin also drew attention to the preparation of infrastructure in neighboring countries, to the number of various wargames and military exercises, to the modernization of seaports to weapon deliveries, the modernization of airports for receiving the aircraft, to the development of artillery, and the creation of new divisions. As part of Operation Atlantic Resolve the forward presence of NATO forces in the countries Belarus borders on has also been reinforced.
“They buy a lot of weapons and spend huge amounts of financial resources. Poles intend to buy up to 1,000 tanks and up to 32 F-35 aircraft. It is a modern aircraft, a quite capable one. It can carry nuclear weapons and carry out strikes,” Viktor Khrenin noted.
One starts wondering about the goal of all the efforts. “They are preparing in advance for combat operations. In other words, for a war,” Viktor Khrenin is convinced. “Various timeframes are mentioned. We’ve also heard them in mass media. The defense minister of the country that has unleashed two world wars referred to some analysts and said that it was nearly our last peaceful summer. Well, how can we look at it with calm? And don’t forget that a conflict goes on to the south of our borders. It is difficult to say how it will end. After all, there are aggressive and unpredictable leaders over there as well. They plainly say that we are co-aggressors and opinions over there differ about whether they should carry out strikes against us or not,” the defense minister added.
What does Belarus have in order to counteract risks and threats? “We are preparing. We are building and developing our Armed Forces on the basis of plans. We don’t endeavor to get involved in an arms race. This aspect can be looked at from different angles. By getting involved in the arms race we will ruin social programs. The general public may resent the fact that we are going to spend money on weapons while we are building a people-first state. This is why taking into account the principle of reasonable sufficiency and the financial resources that are getting allocated, we make our own plans. The amount of weapons that we have is sufficient for us. Although many skeptics say that they are Soviet and outdated weapons. This is not the case. They fight well. If we add a bit of modernization, good means of communications, defense, radioelectronic warfare, drones have become available, then they will become kind of a complex military nucleus that we need for defense. We are not going to demonstrate aggression. We don’t see anyone as an enemy. But we say that we will defend our country if someone wants to solve issues with military force,” the minister stressed. He also pointed out the good level of interaction within the framework of military technology cooperation with the Russian Federation.
According to the defense minister, the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus’ territory has become a factor of strategic deterrence. “We have them. Everything is okay. The president also stresses it from time to time. They have been renovated quite recently. The last task accomplished by our states is the deployment of Oreshnik [hazelnut] missile systems in our territory,” the defense minister recalled. “It is our response to their [Western] aggression, aggressive actions, to their statement that they are going to fight against us. We say: don’t do it, we don’t want to fight. Let’s come to terms. And you know, it seems to me that sensible politicians will appear. Just like our head of state, the president of Russia, the leader of China. The people who understand perfectly well that they shouldn’t rattle their weapons. It won’t result in anything good. There are plenty of issues in economy, in social sphere, in healthcare, in education. It is necessary to focus on those. The militaries should complete in tactical fields and never use these weapons. Nowadays there are more serious threats in the world in the form of terrorist actions, drugs trade. The military people should set up barriers in these fields instead of pitting entire nations against each other, not just armies.”
Viktor Khrenin also pointed out that Oreshnik missiles can carry nuclear warheads and conventional ones. The effective range is up to 5,000km. After noting the deterring effect of Oreshnik missile systems, the defense minister reminded that Belarus has no intention of going to war despite the scary stories fed by Western politicians to their populations.
“They continue portraying us as an enemy. They say, as Americans like to say, that we are bad guys and are about to attack. It will never happen. But it is advantageous for them to scare their population, manipulate the people in order to spend huge resources. Will you look at the resources getting spent on military needs, at the manufacturing enterprises getting commissioned? A statement has been made. I don’t know how much truth is in it but Poland intends to allocate over €10 billion next year to reinforce the border with the Republic of Belarus. It wants to go as far as nearly building fortified areas. Go ahead and build them if you have nothing better to do with your money,” Viktor Khrenin noted.
The defense minister stressed that despite the aggressive policy of the Western countries Belarus is ready for a dialogue. “We’ve talked about it many times. But I’d like to say that they shouldn’t view our pacifism as a weakness. After all, they think that we’ve been scared. We haven’t been scared at all. But we understand perfectly well that politicians need to speak, people need to speak with words instead of artillery volleys. And we are ready for it. The president has stressed it more than once. This is why we say let’s negotiate peacefully,” he noted.
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