Lukashenko ordered troops to protect territorial integrity: NATO’s interference in the internal affairs of Belarus

Belarusian president Lukashenko said on the 22nd local time that the West was directly interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus and ordered the military to take the most stringent measures to protect the territorial integrity of Belarus. The Ministry of defense of Belarus announced on the 20th that a comprehensive tactical exercise would be held in the western Grodno region from August 28 to 31, the Russian satellite news agency quoted belta news agency as saying. Lukashenko has previously warned that the Grodno region is facing the threat of external invasion. On the 22nd, Lukashenko arrived at the military training zone and instructed the military command to take “the most stringent measures” to protect the country’s territorial integrity. Lukashenko also accused Western countries of directly interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus in an attempt to get the Belarusian government to negotiate with the organization for security and cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the current situation. In addition, Lukashenko said that NATO countries have provided military support to undermine the situation in Belarus, he said: “the military support of NATO countries is obvious, they are moving towards the border.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced on the 22nd that US Deputy Secretary of state Stephen Bigan will visit Moscow next week to discuss recent developments in Belarus and other topics, the report said. “U.S. Deputy Secretary of state Stephen Bigan will visit Moscow next week as part of his European tour,” riabkov said According to the data of the Central Election Commission of Belarus, the current president Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote. But there were protests in Belarus that night. On the 15th, Lukashenko pointed out at a meeting in Minsk that the recent riots in Belarus were caused by external interference. With regard to the increasingly fierce post election situation in Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that any external intervention in the internal affairs of Belarus and leading to further escalation of the crisis is unacceptable. Dmitry polyanski, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, also issued a statement on the 18th, saying that the situation in Belarus after the presidential election should not be discussed in the UN Security Council, because it is completely a national internal affairs of Belarus. (aizada)