MINSK, December 1. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that Ukraine is using every excuse they can think of to get NATO involved in the conflict while Belarus is seeing an uptick in provocations near its border.
"All law enforcement agencies note an increase in the number of provocations near the state border. Ukraine is most likely trying to use every excuse to get the troops of NATO member states involved in the conflict. All this is confirmed by the recent missile crash on the territory of Poland," Lukashenko said at a meeting with military and security officials, the BelTA news service reported.
The president said Belarus is able to deter the potential enemy from using military force against the country.
"So far, we have been able to deter the potential enemy from using military force against Belarus," Lukashenko said.
He said that it’s nevertheless necessary to "constantly monitor, see and not miss - not to miss by any means - any signs that would indicate direct preparation for aggression against the country."
He said Western states continue to build up the military potential of their armed forces, modernize infrastructure on the territory of neighboring countries, and increase the intensity of operational and combat training activities.
"All this leads to an escalation of the already complex military-political situation around our country and in the region as a whole," he said.
The president said "the fugitive opposition’s calls for the seizure of power by force and terrorist attacks on the territory of Belarus are being heard with increasing frequency."
"Some of these fugitives are not just traitors, but absolute extremists. I can't call them anything else. They openly, without shame, call for strikes on targets on the territory of our country. They even forget that their relatives live on the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko said.