Belarus does not see the deployment of NATO troops in the Baltic States as a threat
The deployment of additional NATO troops into neighboring countries is not a direct threat to the security of Belarus, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, after a meeting with the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, a Belarusian News Agency reports.
"As for the prospect of deploying new contingents of NATO troops into the Baltic States and Poland; of course, we do not welcome the deployment of additional military contingents within the territories of neighboring countries. We understand the logic of our partners, why they do this, although we do not support these steps," Makei said.
"We do not consider it a direct threat to our security. We see this as a challenge in the military sphere and we need to respond somehow," he said.
However, the Minister noted that Belarus is not a big country that needs to take radical steps to develop its military capabilities in response to these actions, but the government will monitor the situation.
"We believe that now the main thing is to avoid getting obsessed with the build-up of armaments on both sides of the border thereby fanning military tensions," Makei said.