The Belarusian Major General clarified during a briefing for military attaches in the country that the issue “is an internal matter” and the decision on when the withdrawal of Russian units will take place will be determined by the Staffs of both countries.

According to Gulevich, the timing of the return of Russian troops “will largely depend on our Western colleagues” and clarified that the forces and materiel deployed in Eastern Europe, including near the border of Belarus, are one of the factors influencing the development of the situation.

“In connection with the increase in military activity near the external borders of Belarus and Russia and the aggravation of the situation in Donbass, the Presidents of Belarus and Russia decided to continue the exercises of the response forces of the alliance”, the General stated.

The Allied Resolution 2022 joint exercises were scheduled to take place on the Belarusian territory between February 10th and 20th, as part of a test of the reaction of the forces of Russia and Belarus.

Gulevich stressed that Minsk considers that the policy of expansion to the east of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is aggressive and unreasonable and increases the probability of an armed conflict.

In this regard, he emphasized that Belarus has the right to demand the withdrawal of troops of the United States and other NATO member countries from its borders, as well as to guarantee control of the withdrawal through verification measures.

He stated that the existing escalation of tension required the implementation of a set of measures “to contain these aggressive demonstrations and the threat of the use of force” against the alliance in general and Belarus in particular.”

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