MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. NATO’s growing strike potential near the borders of the Russia-Belarus Union State and the elements of a hybrid war that Western countries are using against Minsk are consistently worsening the situation in the Eastern European region, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Wednesday.
"Speaking about present-day realities, I fully agree with the assessment of the military and political situation in the world and in the Eastern European region and at the borders of the Union State," the Belarusian defense chief said at a joint board meeting of the Defense Ministries of Russia and Belarus.
"Indeed, the situation remains tense and, unfortunately, tends to aggravate further. Aside from NATO’s efforts to build up its strike potential in Europe, some Western countries have switched to using elements of a hybrid war against our state," Khrenin said.
As the Belarusian defense minister pointed out, "in these conditions, the international security and arms control system is being dismantled, which raises the level of distrust and whips up tension in the region."
In this situation, Belarus "especially values the strategic level of its interaction with the Russian Federation," "first of all, in the provision of the Union State’s military security and is doing its utmost to maintain and further develop it," he said.
"In this regard, we have taken efforts this year, despite the pandemic, to implement the largest number of events stipulated by the bilateral plans of cooperation with the focus on practical measures in the field of joint operational and combat training," the Belarusian defense chief said.
"A whole series of joint drills and training from the tactical to the strategic level has been held. Interaction in this area has been expanded both in the bilateral and multilateral format within the framework of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization], the CIS and the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization]," Khrenin said.