MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. NATO is forming an "armored fist" in Europe under the guise of pseudo-defense exercises, which is clearly not designed for protection, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said at the plenary session of the 3rd International Anti-Fascist Congress underway at the Patriot congress and exhibition center.
"Under the guise of strengthening Europe's defense and various pseudo-defensive exercises, NATO countries are building an armored fist that is clearly not designed for protection. They are actively conducting reconnaissance, building up military presence in the region and, in fact, conducting large-scale offensive exercises near our borders, increasing military budgets," he stated.
According to Khrenin, European nations, having gone through the crucible of World War II, should always remember the lessons of those tragic events and where fascism ultimately leads. Today, he argues, many of the values espoused by Nazi Germany are being carried on by so-called democratic states. "Democracy delivered by NATO warplanes has only brought the peoples of Yugoslavia, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other countries death and destruction, along with economic chaos and a bleak future," the minister recalled.