Opinions & Interviews

Belarus Security Council: Belarus’ voice heard by United States, NATO

MINSK, 30 October (BelTA) - Belarus will continue to pursue a consistent foreign policy towards reducing military and political tensions in Europe and maintaining a mutually respectful dialogue between partner countries in the name of peace and security, Secretary of State of Belarus’ Security Council Stanislav Zas told BelTA while commenting on the meeting with Charge d’affaires of the U.S. to Belarus Jenifer Moore in Minsk on 29 October in Minsk on 29 October.

“The Belarusian side expressed its concerns over the deployment of U.S. military personnel and hardware in Lithuania. That was the main item on the agenda of the meeting with the high-ranking U.S. diplomat,” Stanislav Zas said. “The initiative of the meeting came from the American side,” he added.

“We appreciate the explanations regarding the purpose of the deployment of U.S. military personnel and hardware at the Pabrade training area, their travel plans, and the specific dates of their return to the places of permanent deployment. Additional information was provided about the Defender 2020 exercise,” the state secretary of  the Security Council said.

“In general, the prompt response of both the NATO leadership and NATO leading country to our questions shows that the voice of Belarus has been heard and that our position has been taken into account. It is important to us. The general willingness to quell fears about this issue and to ensure transparency in decision-making in the future was reaffirmed during the meeting, which is also important. It should be noted that the lack of trust and awareness was the reason why this situation happened. It is very important that the American partners have shown a desire for an open and constructive dialogue in the spirit of the Vienna document on confidence-building and security measures,” Stanislav Zas said

Belarus, for its part, is also ready to make appropriate adjustments to the plans to respond to the deployment of foreign troops near its borders. “This proposal has already been endorsed by the Belarusians president,” Stanislav Zas noted.

“At the same time, our country's position on the inadmissibility of militarization of the region remains unchanged,” the state secretary of the Security Council noted. "We will continue to pursue a consistent foreign policy to reduce military and political tensions in Europe and to maintain a mutually respectful dialogue of partner countries in the name of  peace and security,” he added.

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