Lukashenka: Belarus and Russia Have Joint Group Of Forces On Western Border

In case of a conflict with NATO, Belarusians have to be the first ones to take up the battle, bringing an opportunity for the troops to catch up from the western regions of the Russian Federation.

This was announced by Lukashenka at the meeting with heads of the delegations taking part in the XVI session of Council of Heads of Supreme Audit Institutions of the CIS member states on June 7, BelTA informs.

“Russians often say that NATO is deploying new contingents near the Russian borders. It must be emphasized, that primarily they are being deployed near our borders, Belarus’ borders. We see it and we are taking adequate measures with no noise and not making a fuss about it,” – the dictator said.

“I see that today the Russian government is taking whatever action is appropriate in a westerly direction, I mean that we have a joint group of forces in the west, which ensures the safety of our motherland – Belarus and Russia. This group is based on the Belarusian army units. In case of a conflict, they are the first to come into battle, bringing an opportunity for the troops concentrated in the west of the Russian Federation to catch up shortly,” – Lukashenka continued.

He also noted: “We do not keep it back from our western colleagues, our partners or rivals. They are well aware of our arrangement with Russia.”

“I’m saying this to clarify my position in relation to the CIS. Belarus has always been the initiator of integration processes in the post-Soviet space, – the dictator noted. – We have stand for the real convergence of the former Soviet Union republics, and we always will.”

“If we follow other principles, then we will never find cooperation between the republics, which might result in confrontation between us and even a war, like it is now in Ukraine and in some other parts of the CIS,” – Lukashenka said.

We remind that in early June, Russia deployed two motorized infantry brigades near the Belarusian border.