Lukashenko, Shoigu Discussing Security in Minsk
15:57 12.04.2023 (Updated: 10:47 03.08.2023)
© Photo Russian Defence Ministry
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MINSK (Sputnik) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is discussing security with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Minsk.
The Russian minister is visiting the Belarusian capital to follow up on the recent agreements reached between the heads of the two states.
"I am grateful to you that despite all the difficulties you keep several thousand Russian servicemen deployed here [in Belarus]. We have contributed as far as necessary. Together with your officers we are training these guys, improving their combat cohesion," Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian president said he was satisfied with how the military training of the joint regional group of troops is organized.
"We train them as we should. We must keep our guards up. You can see that Poland, Lithuania are beginning to take action in our direction. Therefore, this is a good help and support for the Belarusian army, which defends the Union State on the western flank," the president added.
Lukashenko also said that during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, the leaders reached an agreement on the visit of a Russian Defense Ministry delegation to Minsk.
"We agreed that you and your experts would come here today and we would discuss this issue in the context of the situation that is taking shape around us today, including the special military operation. I am grateful to you for coming here. I think that today we will discuss all the issues that relate to our bilateral relations and the situation in Belarus and Russia," Lukashenko said.
In addition, he said that Minsk counts on security guarantees from Russia in the event of aggression by third countries against Belarus. Lukashenko noted that Western countries can no longer be the guarantors of security under current conditions, as envisaged in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
"What security guarantees can the United States give us? None. Except for spurring aggression against us, as we see it now. We need full security guarantees from our brotherly Russia," the Belarusian president said.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said that Shoigu is also scheduled to meet with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, as part of the visit.
The Budapest Memorandum, signed in December 1994, provided security assurances by Russia, the US and the United Kingdom to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine after they relinquished nuclear weapons left in their territory following the collapse of the Soviet Union and joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
