Recent Actions Align with the West’s Overall Strategy: Mezentsev

Recently, the concentration of Ukrainian forces at the border with Belarus fits into the political strategy of the West aimed at exerting pressure on Minsk and Moscow. This was stated by Dmitry Mezentsev, the State Secretary of the Union State.

“Recent actions taken at the southern border of the republic (Belarus) are steps that align with the West's overall strategy of intimidating and applying pressure on the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation as allied states united by the treaty on the creation of the Union State,” he said in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.

Mezentsev noted that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has “responded clearly to the actions being carried out at both the Western and southern borders of Belarus.”

“Minsk’s defensive doctrine is permanent and unchanging—a guarantee of protecting its borders and citizens, relying on the state’s military organization, including territorial defense and the potential of the people's militia. This is understandable and natural,” he added.

He reminded that a joint Russian-Belarusian regional group of troops is stationed on Belarusian territory, where “joint work has been carried out for many years regarding the combat training and qualification enhancement of the officers and sergeant staff.” Currently, two programs are in operation within the Union State to ensure the grouping’s infrastructure and rear.

“Since the same year, a program has been in place that governs the border committee of the Union State. This is a unified structure that ensures the proper level of border security,” Mezentsev noted.

He also pointed out that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “repeatedly stated that Russia is ready to offer proposals that elevate and guarantee a different level of regional security.”

“It is important that our Western partners listen to this and are ready to both engage in negotiations and consider the opinions of official Minsk and official Moscow,” Mezentsev emphasized.

Earlier, against the backdrop of reports about the increase of forces in regions bordering Ukraine, Lukashenko stated that he would not allow any clashes at the border. He reiterated that the country is not preparing to get involved in “any combat operations,” warning that there would be a “harsh response” to attempts to cross the border.

In this context, the Belarusian leader called on the Ukrainian side not to “get carried away and play with fire,” emphasizing that Minsk does not need any escalation.

On June 1, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Moscow considers the concentration of Ukrainian troops at the border with Belarus a problem for itself, given that Minsk is its ally.