Ryzhankou: Belarus is ready to restore military communication mechanisms with NATO
Belarus is ready to restore military communication and interaction mechanisms with NATO countries if the alliance states are also ready for it. This was stated in an interview with Russian propagandists from TASS by Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhankou.
Maxim Ryzhankou. Photo: Alexander Nemenov Pool Photo via AP
According to him, Minsk is ready to return to military verification, early warning, and other transparency measures. Ryzhankou noted that Belarus would not impede the restoration of such mechanisms if NATO countries show reciprocal readiness.
He stated that Belarus was not the initiator of the termination of previous channels of interaction, information exchange, and military restrictions, including within the framework of the OSCE and bilateral mechanisms. He placed the responsibility for their dismantling on Western countries, stating that they sought to expand the possibilities of using armaments and attract more states to the use of strategic armaments.
According to Ryzhankou, the restoration of such mechanisms could reduce the risk of military incidents and increase mutual predictability. Even limited early warning and verification measures, he said, would allow the parties to better understand each other's actions and be more confident that certain steps are not directed directly against them.