The American authorities claim that Russia allegedly can attack Ukraine from the territory of Belarus. Writes about it TASS referring to a senior US State Department official.
According to the department, Moscow will have the opportunity to attack Ukraine from the northern direction thanks to the upcoming joint exercises of Russia and Belarus. A State Department spokeswoman explained that reports of troop deployments were worrying amid tensions along the Russian-Ukrainian border. In her opinion, for the Belarusians, the country’s involvement in such an attack would be completely unacceptable.
And there is no doubt that Belarus is increasingly playing a destabilizing role in the region.
US State Department representative
Changing laws
An employee of the American department expressed the opinion that the draft of the updated Constitution of Belarus may also indicate the plans of the authorities to allow the deployment of both conventional and nuclear forces of Russia in the country. “Such a move would represent a challenge to European security that may require a response,” she stressed.
The draft amendments to the Constitution of Belarus were published on 27 December. According to the document, the President of Belarus will be able to introduce a state of emergency in the event of attempts to rebel, “mass and other riots.” In addition, after the adoption of the new Constitution, Belarus will lose the status of a neutral and non-nuclear power.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko himself said earlier that he “absolutely does not need” the process of amending the Constitution. The updated version of the Belarusian constitution contains additional restrictions on the presidential term, as well as provisions on the Great Patriotic War. The citizens of Belarus will have to vote for or against the adoption of the amendments in the second half of February.
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old statements
During the briefing, the official recalled that in November 2021, Lukashenka had already touched on the topic of deploying nuclear weapons. In her opinion, everyone should take such words of the Belarusian leader carefully.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that American missiles could appear in Eastern Europe if Germany refuses to deploy them on its territory. In response to this, Lukashenka threatened that he would offer his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to return nuclear weapons to the republic if similar NATO systems ended up in Poland.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov justified Lukashenka’s words about nuclear weapons with the reckless policy of the West. The diplomat noted that if he were the West, he would consider such statements a very serious warning.
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Allied resolve
Earlier it was reported that Russian troops had already begun to arrive in Belarus for a planned test of the reaction forces of the Union State. According to the head of the Department of International Military Cooperation Oleg Voinov, the upcoming inspection will take place against the backdrop of an aggravation of the military-political situation in the world, growing tensions in Europe, including near the western and southern borders of Belarus.
The check of forces will consist of two stages, the first of which will last until February 9. Until that time, Russian troops will arrive, unload and advance to the area where they are to carry out their tasks. The second stage will take place from 10 to 20 February. Within its framework, the joint exercises “Allied Resolve – 2022” will be held. As Lukashenka explained, the military will work out scenarios for confrontation with forces from Poland, the Baltic States and Ukraine.
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