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NATO countries spend billions on imaginary Eastern threat, says Belarusian president

According to the Belarusian head of state, countries that strive to pursue an independent foreign policy are under intense pressure

MINSK, November 23. /TASS/. Governments of NATO countries, incited by Washington, willingly spend billions of dollars on imaginary threats from the East, which the US military-industrial complex benefits from, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday at a session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Collective Security Council.

"Governments of NATO member-countries, incited by Washington, are willing to spend billions on the allegedly growing threat from the East, thus stimulating the US military-industrial complex," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying. According to the Belarusian head of state, countries that strive to pursue an independent foreign policy are under intense pressure. "They are trying to put international organizations, including the UN, under their control," the president said.

In Lukashenko’s opinion, NATO has finally consolidated the anti-Russian and anti-Belarusian agendas for the foreseeable future and has interrupted all lines of communication on its own initiative. According to him, there is a systematic increase in the military presence of the US and other NATO countries at the CSTO western borders under the pretext of restraining "the aggressive behavior of Russia and its allies". "The West continues to relocate troops, weapons and military equipment to the NATO eastern flank. The intensity of their operational and combat training activities is increasing. What is this but the development of a potential theater of combat operations?" the Belarusian head of the state pointed out.

In this regard, Lukashenko concluded that the recent decision to deploy a regional grouping of troops from Belarus and Russia was a natural response to the existing challenges.