Alexander Lukashenko called on the Collective Security Treaty Organization to strengthen its military potential and accelerate the implementation of decisions that have already been made. The Belarusian leader made the statement at a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow.
Lukashenko supported proposals to establish mobile air defense units to operate during collective force operations, as well as measures to improve the Collective Air Forces. According to him, the organization's military mechanisms should be regularly reviewed because of the changing security environment.
„We must take into account the experience of modern armed conflicts, above all the use of unmanned vehicles and effective countermeasures against them,“ Lukashenko said.He called on CSTO member states to demonstrate greater political will and act more quickly in implementing the agreements. Documents on political cooperation, the organization's military component and coordination in the fight against terrorism were adopted at the meeting. As of January 1, 2027, the CSTO chairmanship will be assumed by Tajikistan.
Criticism of the European Union
In his speech, Lukashenko accused the European Union of using its mechanisms for combating hybrid threats beyond the bloc's territory to interfere in third countries. He cited as an example EU groups deployed ahead of important elections in some post-Soviet countries.
„It is an interesting situation – interference in the name of countering interference,“ the Belarusian leader said.Lukashenko also criticized the inclusion of illegal migration and smuggling in the concept of a „hybrid threat,“ saying that Western countries themselves are involved in these processes. These assessments reflect the position of the Belarusian leadership and are not presented as a generally accepted fact.
Messages to Russia and Poland
At his meeting with Vladimir Putin the previous day, Lukashenko said that trade between Belarus and Russia was growing by around 20-21 percent. He also said that Minsk had practically resolved its outstanding issues with Moscow and thanked it for supplying modern weapons to the Belarusian army.
Lukashenko described the Russian military formations in the western direction as combat-ready and prepared to defend Belarus. He stressed that despite the complexity of the situation, these troops had not been sent to the area of hostilities in Ukraine. The Belarusian side also supported efforts to settle the conflict and Russia's position in the negotiations.
In a separate congratulatory message to Poland on its National Independence Day, Lukashenko called for contacts between Minsk and Warsaw to be restored. He said that sanctions, bans, barriers and walls would not overcome the differences.
„Happiness cannot be built on an insult to one's neighbor,“ Lukashenko said, calling for relations to be restored through respect, trust and dialogue.The message to Poland combined an acknowledgment of the serious political disagreements with a stated readiness for mutual rapprochement, without abandoning Minsk's previous positions.
Sources: kommersant.ru, pozirk.online, korrespondent.net