ST. PETERSBURG, May 22. /TASS/. The joint Russian-Belarusian nuclear force exercise has demonstrated to the world the defense capability of both countries and their readiness to defend their sovereignty, Russian Federation Council Speaker and Chairperson of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly Council Valentina Matviyenko said at a meeting with Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova.
"We live in very difficult times. We see how the collective West behaves. For the first time, the armies of Russia and Belarus conducted nuclear deterrence exercises. And we showed the world that we are peaceful people, we always support peaceful, diplomatic negotiations, but so that no one has any illusions: we are always ready to defend the sovereignty of our states, our security, and the security of our peoples," Matviyenko said.
The recent maneuvers and all the actions of the two countries’ leaders that preceded them convincingly demonstrate the self-sufficiency and strong defense capabilities of Russia and Belarus, while at the same time, they are willing to engage in dialogue, the Federation Council speaker noted. "But dialogue on an equal footing, a respectful dialogue, not attempts to dictate or dominate. Such an approach is unacceptable for either Belarus or Russia," Matviyenko stressed.