Opinions & Interviews

Belarus president, Russian security chief talk about U.S. missiles, international security

MINSK, 10 September (BelTA) – Changes in international and regional security were discussed as Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev in Minsk on 10 September, BelTA has learned.

Nikolai Patrushev told media after the meeting: “We’ve talked about matters of strategic security, about the changes going on in international and regional security, how they should be accommodated, what new challenges and threats emerge, what influence they exert, how we should respond to the actions committed by our partners.”

Nikolai Patrushev mentioned the withdrawal of the United States of America from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty) in the early 2000s and from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) in 2019 as well as the USA’s statements about the intention to start deploying these missiles in the East. “They see China as their primary adversary. Should we be concerned or not? Certainly, Russia should be concerned because the missiles to be deployed over there will be able to reach our territory. We should keep it in mind,” he remarked.

Nikolai Patrushev also drew attention to matters of ensuring security in the European region. Antimissile defense systems have already been deployed in Romania. Plans have been made to deploy the same kind of weapons in Poland soon. “The installations that contain the missiles will be able to contain attack missiles,” Nikolai Patrushev explained Russia’s concerns. “It is the concerns we’ve made the United States aware of. We don’t intend to be the first to do something but we will respond to the challenges and threats that will be outlined.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Nikolai Patrushev had also talked about fight against terrorism. They agreed it is necessary to join efforts in order to counteract this threat. “It is very important for no state to provide support to terrorist countries or use terrorist organizations to further one’s own interests,” the secretary of the Security Council of Russia stressed.

Nikolai Patrushev noted that the Belarusian head of state put forward a number of proposals during an international conference on fighting terrorism using innovative methods and new technologies in Minsk a short while ago. In particular, Aleksandr Lukashenko suggested putting together and signing an agreement against deploying intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in Europe. “We welcome the idea,” Nikolai Patrushev said.

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