Contents tagged with Belarus

  • Belarus and NATO discuss prospects of cooperation

    On December 10, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Andrei Dapkiunas met with the Head of NATO’s Arms Control and Coordination Section, William Alberque before the third round of the experts’ consultations between Belarus and NATO on Confidence and Security Building Measures, the press-service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reports.

    The parties exchanged their views on the current state and prospects for further Belarus-NATO cooperation and indicated increased efforts by …

  • President of Belarus apologizes to Putin for the 'stormy' dispute over gas prices

    President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko commented on the public discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the gas prices which took place on Thursday, December 6, at the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in St. Petersburg. Speaking on the Russia TV channel, the President of Belarus admitted that he had to apologize to Putin.

    "I spoke in a bad tone, so I had to apologize to the host of today's meeting. The discussion was very heated. You'd better not listen to it," …

  • Belarus to require identification for internet usage

    Belarus is introducing a law requiring the users of online resources to identify themselves. According to Interfax, this rule has been added to the new version of the law “On the mass media” which came into force on December 1.

    During the first stage of the procedure, citizens will register and sign a user agreement including their telephone number, which is in turn linked to certain passport details.

    The agreement must contain a warning that users are not allowed to post messages online …

  • President of Belarus wants to recover the payment Russia owes for construction of FIFA World Cup facilities

    President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, demanded to resolve payment for the work done by Belarusian builders in Russia and Turkmenistan.

    “I was informed that they still have not received money for the construction of the Garlyk Mining and Processing Plant in the east of Turkmenistan. I am waiting for this issue to be resolved. In addition, the Russians did not pay for the facilities built in Kaluga for the World Cup,” said Lukashenkao, BelTA reports.

    According to him, the government of …

  • Russia threatens to close the Azov Sea to Ukrainian vessels

    A member of the Committee on Defense and Security of the Federation Council Frants Klintsevich commented on Facebook the detention of 15 ships by Ukrainian border guards for visiting ports of Crimea, calling the situation absurd.

    “This is clearly an absurdity. And it doesn’t matter if we are talking about Russian ships or ships from foreign governments, both completely legally entered ports in the Crimea,” he stated.

    According to him, Kyiv is provoking Moscow to respond. The senator stressed …

  • Russia gives Belarus new $630 million loan

    Belarus has managed to negotiate a new loan from Russia for 2019, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported, citing the country’s Finance Minister Maksim Yermolovich.

    “Everything is in order, all the decisions have been made. The question now remaining is the drafting of the agreement. But that is already next year,” he said, adding that Minsk is not expecting any new decisions from Russia or from itself.

    The loan in question will be for $630 million, Russian Finance Minister Anton …

  • Belarus warns of mirror response if the US military base is created in Poland

    The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of Belarus for Foreign Affairs and National Security Sergei Rakhmanov  said that Belarus and Russia would take mirror measures if Poland places on its territory a US armored division base, as reported by RIA Novosti.

    “I believe the response will be adequate. Everything will be counted, weighed and a mirrored decision will be taken,” said Rakhmanov.

    According to him, the state of the relations with the West that Belarus has …

  • Lukashenko says no to Russian military base in Belarus

    Belarus is “categorically opposed” to the deployment of a Russian aerospace base in its territory, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday, commenting on a possible response to NATO’s increased presence in Poland.

    According to Lukashenko, a Russian military base would create risks for Belarus, which is “independently capable” of carrying out the defensive functions prescribed in the Collective Security Treaty with Russia.

    A Russian base would put Minsk “under a possible …

  • President of Belarus warns of ‘joint response’ with Russia if the US military base established in Poland

    The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko said that the possible deployment of a U.S base in Poland would force Belarus and Russia to "take adequate measures", in particular, to place additional military infrastructure on the territory of Belarus.

    “I told the Polish Foreign Minister when he spoke with us in Minsk that we are not going to fight with them. Therefore, there is no need to create extra military bases. Otherwise, Russians and we will have to respond. This means that we will …

  • Lukashenko: Belarus could take on responsibility for bringing peace to Donbas

    During his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Minsk , Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country could take on responsibility for ensuring peace in eastern Ukraine, and could oversee the ‘elections’ in the Donbas.

     “According to our information, they are bringing in modern weaponry which is capable of carrying out anti-electronic warfare not only on the ground, but also in space, which neutralizes any satellites and other such means. All that remains is to bring …