NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Minsk on Wednesday August 26 against any attempt to instrumentalize an alleged strengthening of Alliance forces in the region to justify the crackdown on demonstrators.
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Last weekend, Belarusian President Alexander Loukachenko claimed to have noted " significant actions by NATO forces in the immediate vicinity " of Belarusian borders, on Polish and Lithuanian territories. An accusation immediately denied by NATO and again swept aside with the back of the hand by Mr. Stoltenberg.
“ We are seeing attempts to use NATO as a pretext to crack down on protesters and political opponents in Belarus. However, this is totally false since there is no strengthening of NATO in the region, ”declared the former Norwegian Prime Minister, arriving at a meeting of EU Defense Ministers. in Berlin. " Any attempt by the Minsk regime to divert attention from its domestic problems by implicating the foreigner in order to give itself a pretext to use violence against its own people is unacceptable and unjustified, " he said.
Alexandre Loukachenko in particular affirmed that the demonstrations were " remote-controlled " from abroad, insisting that he will not let his country be " torn to pieces ". Since the controversial presidential election of August 9, his opponents have not flinched and have been demonstrating to demand his resignation.
