Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko met with representatives of U.S. analytical centers, who are in Belarus on a visit on 5-6 November, BelTA informs.

The head of state remarked that this meeting is important not only for the Belarusian-U.S. relations but also for the entire European region. “At present the military and political situation in Eastern Europe remains quite complicated, as well as in Europe in general. Unfortunately, there is no obvious way out from the situation,” the president said.

“Politicians, who get carried away with their own rhetoric, cannot come to an agreement. The military hope for the best as usual but have to prepare for the worst. Meanwhile, people are still dying in the neighboring Ukraine. Your current status and the format of our meeting enable us to openly discuss the most important issues for our region.” At the beginning of the meeting Alexander Lukashenko pointed out a few key ideas. He stressed that Belarus is a young sovereign state pursuing an independent foreign policy, with a balanced pragmatic position on a wide range of topical issues of international security.

On equal dialogue

“While restoring normal relations with the United States, maintaining good-neighborly relations with the European Union, expanding partnership with NATO, Belarus is committed to building an equal dialogue with all parties. We stand for more openness and understanding to enhance regional security,” the Belarusian leader said.

In his words, Belarus pays much attention to topical issues with neighboring countries. “This pertains to the NATO member states and other countries that are not part of the alliance,” Alexander Lukashenko specified.

On conflicts

Belarus is located between the two largest centers of power, the president said. “Being foreign policy experts, you understand all the risks that any military confrontation between the West and the East can bring about. Our country is absolutely not interested in conflicts, either hot or frozen, be it a neighboring country or our own territory,” the head of state remarked. The president emphasized that the military doctrine of Belarus is of an exclusively defensive nature: “I have repeatedly said that our country will never be a threat to neighbors.”

On rumors about a military base

Alexander Lukashenko also mentioned that Belarus is in a military alliance with Russia, whose relations with the West are not at their best. “Nevertheless, no bases of other states have been set up in Belarus yet,” he said.

In his words, the Russian military presence in Belarus has been a hot topic lately. "This is a made-up problem. We are in a military-political alliance with Russia. There is absolutely no difference if there is a military base here or not. We are not deploying this base here not because we want to show you or someone else that we are sovereign and independent. We are not deploying it because there is no need to. According to our joint military defense plan with the Russian Federation, we will fulfill the functions vested in us by ourselves,” the president stressed.