“Given the increase in military activity near the external borders of Russia and Belarus and the escalation of the situation in Donbass, the presidents of Belarus and Russia have decided to prolong the inspection of the allied response forces,” Khrenin declared.

The Allied Resolution 2022 military exercises began on February 10th and were to end this Saturday in Belarus, as part of the second stage of testing the reaction of the Belarusian and Russian armed forces.

According to the Defense Ministries of both countries, during the exercises the joint troops practiced confrontation and repelling an external aggression, the fight against terrorism and the defense of the interests of the two allied nations.

According to Khrenin, the objective remains unchanged: to ensure a relevant response and the reduction of hostile war preparations near our common borders.

He pointed out that the countries bordering Belarus and Russia are being “filled with advanced weapons”, especially the offensive kind, and are allowing the deployment of numerous troops on their territory.

Khrenin stressed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reduced from seven to five days the time of readiness for combat of its combined arms groups to respond to a possible escalation of the situation in Ukraine, and also warned about the increase of exercises and operations near the borders, which “clearly target Russia and Belarus”.

Also according to the minister, the West refuses to accept and insists on evading the red lines that Russia has marked in relation to the security architecture in Europe and that are also relevant for Minsk. “We see that a fundamental principle, that of indivisible security, is being rejected,” he said.

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