Events

MINSK, 17 October (BelTA) – Belarus does not view the NATO buildup in the neighboring countries as a direct threat to its security, Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said in an interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, BelTA has learned.

“We do not consider the steps taken by NATO and the United States to strengthen the NATO presence in some Baltic countries and Poland as an immediate, direct threat to the security of the Republic of Belarus. Well, it is true that this significantly increases the degree of tension in the region in the field of security. But we prefer to think that this will not prompt NATO, so to speak, to launch an aggression against Belarus one day,” Vladimir Makei said.

The Minister stressed that at the same time, Belarus is trying to find adequate responses, including in the military sphere. “You know that we, together with some of our allies, in particular with China, have built a new kind of weapons – missile systems. Today we are actively working on their production. I think this is not the last step that can be made in this area. But, I repeat, we do not consider the NATO buildup as a direct military threat to Belarus. It is a certain security challenge, to which we must find an adequate response,” he said.