Opening address of Russian Defence Minister General of Army Sergei Shoigu to Russia-Belarus Defence Ministry Board Session
18.10.2023
It is a pleasure to welcome all of you at the Joint Board Session of our defence departments.
Belarus is a strategic partner and a trusted ally of the Russian Federation.
Our countries share the ties of brotherhood, common cultural and moral values.
Nowadays, this common ground is of the crucial importance when situation along the borders of the Union State escalated due to hostile activity of the NATO member-states.
Since February 2022, the number of the NATO troops in Eastern Europe and Baltic states increased two and a half times and exceeded 30,000 servicemen. Over a half of them is presented by U.S. military personnel.
At the eastern flank, on a regular basis the alliance troops undergo wide-scale exercises based on scenarios of an armed conflict with Russia and Belarus. The armed forces of member-state hone deployment of nuclear weaponry with the United States Strategic Air Forces and NATO tactical nuclear forces.
Finland's becoming a new member of the NATO and joint exercise on the territory of Sweden have created an extra hotbed of tension. In the near future, it is possible that the NATO deploys military bases and strike weaponry in these countries.
In defending the Kiev nationalist regime, the collective West has unleashed a hybrid war against Russia in the military-political, legal, economic, and humanitarian spheres.
Along with economic sanctions against our country, there is open support for Kiev. The total amount of funds spent on Ukraine reached almost two hundred billion dollars. The NATO member-states provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with weaponry, transfer intelligence information, train Ukrainian servicemen, send mercenaries and military consultants.
The United States of America and its allies are supplying armoured vehicles, air defence equipment, and precision missiles to Ukraine. In violation of international conventions, Washington has included cluster munitions in military aid packages.
The issue of transferring F-16 tactical fighter jets to Kiev has moved to a practical level. The aircraft are expected to be supplied to Ukraine as early as the next year.
To respond to these threats, we are taking appropriate measures and strengthening our western borders.
The well-established mechanism of joint military planning ensures the effective functioning of the regional grouping of troops and the Unified Regional Air Defence System.
Mutually beneficial military-technical cooperation and cooperation between the defence-industrial enterprises of our countries have been established.
Joint operational and combat training activities are conducted both bilaterally and multilaterally.
In the course of the CSTO exercises on the territory of Belarus, issues relating to logistics, medical support, reconnaissance, and radiation, chemical, and biological protection were developed.
Combat training centres have been established to improve the quality of training of Russian and Belarusian servicemen.
In addition, we continue to train Belarusian servicemen in higher educational institutions of the Russian Defence Ministry.
At today's session, we are to summarise the results of joint activities over the past year and identify promising areas of future efforts. We are also going to discuss a number of issues related to strengthening the common defence space considering the experience of the special military operation.'
Department for Media Affairs and Information
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