Briefly:

  • The NATO Summit Declaration states that the Allies have faced a challenge from Russia and China.

  • The military sphere has become the direction in which the Belarusian-Russian integration has advanced the most.

  • From February 2022, the Belarusian-Russian military integration gained such acceleration that it became a threat to all neighbors.

  • There are no agreements that would regulate the presence of Russian troops in Belarus.

The special attention to the Madrid NATO summit was caused by the fact that it takes place at a turning point in world history.

There is a full-scale war in Europe.

Namely, this organization was once created to neutralize military dangers.

And now the time has come.

The summit declaration states that the alliance countries have faced a challenge from Russia and China.

"The Russian Federation is the most significant and immediate threat to Allied security, peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area," the final NATO document said.

The Madrid summit adopted a new Strategic Concept and decided to increase the rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 people.

The declaration also mentions Belarus: "The build-up of Moscow's troops, including in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean regions, along with military integration with Belarus, challenges our security and interests."

For 30 years of independent Belarus, the topic of Belarusian-Russian integration has filled Ascom.

So much has been said and written about her that it is difficult to add anything.

But now it turns out that the direction in which integration has advanced the most, was the military sphere.

And the war in Ukraine here has become a strong accelerator of this process.

We can recall how much fury raged in previous years, when it came to Russia's attempt on the military sovereignty of Belarus.

How difficult it was to create a unified air defense system.

And the question of the location of the Russian military air base in Belarus in 2015 caused a scandal in relations between Minsk and Moscow.

Lukashenko stubbornly defended his right to full control over the country's military sovereignty.

After all, what is this full-fledged dictator who does not control the entire army in the territory under his control?

Everything has changed radically since August 2020.

In exchange for Moscow's political support, Lukashenko was forced to surrender military sovereignty step by step.

Endless Belarusian-Russian military exercises of various scales have begun.

Under the guise of two training and combat centers on the territory of Belarus, Russian military bases were actually created.

And since February 2022, the Belarusian-Russian military integration has gained such acceleration that it has become a threat to all neighbors.

This is stated in the document of the Madrid Summit of NATO.

Russian troops came here under the guise of exercises and stayed here.

From here they launched an offensive on Kyiv.

Planes bombing Ukraine take off from Belarusian airfields.

Rockets also fly from Belarus.

Moreover, it should be emphasized that Russian troops are on Belarusian territory and use it to attack Ukraine without any legal grounds.

There are no agreements that would regulate their stay here.

It is even unclear whether the Russians inform Lukashenko about the use of Belarusian territory for aggression against the neighboring country.

At the beginning of the war, he somehow admitted that he learned about it from the media.

But Lukashenko is silent.

Do not argue, do not quarrel, as in 2015.

All other state institutions are also silent.

And all this to the accompaniment of state media about the threat to Belarusian sovereignty from the West.

Such is the sad result of Lukashenka's 28-year rule.

Opinions expressed in blogs convey the views of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the position of the editors.

  • Valery Karbalevich

    Born in 1955.

    He graduated from the History Department of the Belarusian State University, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor.

    Radio Svaboda political commentator.



    karbalevich@gmail.com

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