Translated by Sasha and subtitled by Leo.
Meeting took place on October 27, 2020.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu:
Good day, dear colleagues. The Republic of Belarus was and remains our closest neighbour, reliable ally and strategic partner. This is particularly important under the current conditions of international instability, when the mistrust in relations between countries is growing, when attempts are made to undermine the basis of the international law and interests of sovereign states are ignored. Using the ‘colored revolution’ technologies, the United States and its satellites purposefully pump up tensions and undermine the internal political situation in a number of countries.
Very recently, an attempt to change the government in the Republic of Belarus was made with the political and financial support from the West. Among other goals, this was done in order to frustrate the Union State integration process, and to fracture the Russo-Belorussian relations. We decisively condemn such actions and see the meddling in the internal affairs of other countries as unacceptable. The situation along the Western borders of the Union State remains tense, where we must increase our forward presence.
In the immediate vicinity of our borders, the Alliance is developing military infrastructure and stockpiles material and technological means, military equipment and weapons. The segment of the American so-called anti missile defense system whose launch pads can be used for attack weapons is being increased. Despite the pandemic, the intensity of the Bloc’s military exercises is not being reduced. In the conditions of the current political-military situation in the region as well as of the new challenges and threats first of all from the international terrorism, the Defense Ministry of Russia regards guaranteeing the military security of the Union State as one of the priority tasks.
The most important coordinating mechanism for this task is the joint collegium of Defense Ministries of Russia and the Republic of Belarus. Today we are holding the first ever meeting using video communications. I am sure however that the quality of our work will not suffer because of that. I note that the pandemic induced restrictions were not able to reduce the intensity of the military cooperation between our countries. We continue forming the single integrated defense area within the borders of the Union State. The common military doctrine has been adopted, the regional military groups and the united air defense systems are functioning. We’ve set up joint military planning. Our principal attention is directed towards the armed forces training. It includes joint staff exercises, the joint group command on the strategic level, military war exercises ‘West’ and ‘Union Shield’, joint exercises of different types of armed forces and special forces.
In the end of September, Belorussian military personnel took part in the ‘Caucasus 2020’ exercises in the Kapustin Yar training ground. While the Russian paratroopers units, together with Belorussian special operations forces, conducted a joint exercise the ‘Slavic Brotherhood 2020’ in the Republic of Belarus. Additionally we worked out tasks of operational and combat preparation for the international organizations formats, that of the CSTO in the first priority. Thus lately we concluded the peace keeping training ‘Inviolable Brotherhood 2020′, which showed the increased level of our troops’ training and cooperation. Within the framework of respective programs of the Union State, the military infrastructure is being improved and the systems for technical protection of railways and regions are being developed. I believe the level of Russo-Belorussian military cooperation is optimal. I am sure today’s meeting will be constructive and conducive to the further deepening of our military cooperation and to the strengthening of the defense capabilities of our Union State.
Belorussian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin:
Distinguished Sergei Kuzhugetovich, distinguished members of the Joint Collegium and the participants of this meeting, allow me to greet you in my name and in the name of the Belorussian participants of the Collegium. I am sure that today’s event, as always, will allow the advancing development of Belorussian-Russian cooperation in the military sphere. I wish to stress that the events of the current year have become a real challenge for the international community in the view of the aggravation of the political and economic contradictions between the subjects of the international law, the existing unresolved regional conflicts, the attempt to carry out ‘color revolutions’, as well as the difficult epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19. The events taking place in our country since last August are the salient example of this. Various destructive forces, stirred up by the leaderships of a number of countries, attempted at unconditional regime change.
Only thanks to the coordinated actions by the state’s governing bodies and the Belorussian people we managed to save the country from the lawlessness and arbitrary rule. I particularly wish to express my deep gratitude to the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation for its position and help it rendered to the Republic of Belarus during this difficult time. The unsuccessful attempt to organize a ‘color revolution’ has been replaced by a hybrid war and unprecedented measures of diplomatic and political and economic pressure. Neither does the military component fall behind. During the recent years, NATO’s rotational forces in the neighboring countries have grown seventeen-fold and reached 10,000 troops. Military equipment and personnel, including that of the United States, are being concentrated in the immediate vicinity of our border.
The amount of large scale multinational military exercises of the NATO countries which are held on the territories of our neighboring countries is increasing. The devaluation of the international weapons control system, triggered by the unilateral actions by the United States with support from its NATO allies, is ongoing. The evidence of this are the denunciation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the refusal to ratify the adopted treaty on conventional weapons in Europe, the denunciation of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and finally the concluding procedures of exiting the Open Sky Treaty. All this are links in one chain of actions directed at undermining the international and regional security and securing the legal field for militarization of the European continent by way of the American presence. This is happening at our common borders of the Union State.
We as institutes of our states that are responsible for military security, must react accordingly. We have an integrated regional grouping of troops, as well as common outlook on the military threats in the Eastern European region and on the issues of ensuring security. We, along with our Russian colleagues, set the goal of today’s meeting to, first of all, organize practical actions towards building and strengthening of the required common military potential in order to countermeasure the challenges and threats of a military nature directed against the Union State. In the interest of the support for the regional military group of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, the Union State continues implementation of programs in connection with development and improvement of the joint system of infrastructure facilities for its intended joint use. I am convinced that the decisions made as a result of our joint work will become effective guidelines for our defense forces in the questions of ensuring security of the Union State.
Mass unemployment, riots, money for nothing, hollowed out industrial base that does not need the unemployed. The psychopathic solution is war as a way to reduce the idle and burdensome population. USA, USA, USA……
The trouble is it’s not the idle & burdensome who go to these wars, some aren’t nice people granted but a lot are the sort of people America needs to right itself. they think they’re doing good but don’t realise exactly who they are fighting for… and it’s not the “Good Ol USA”.
I have question for Mister Shoygu for whom I have deep respect.
What does he think of Putin statement about the ‘good’ American presences in Afghanistan. https://tass.com/politics/1216103
While most of the world want the Americans and NATO out of there.
What Putin addresses in his comment is Intel and anti-terror work. So, not a hegemonic military footprint. CIA and Military Intel shared with the Russians. A terror-impacted Afghanistan is on the border with Russia and China. It is not a threat to the US. But the long stay in the country has developed deep and wide Intel sources for the US. Thus, Putin wants to keep accessing those US-controlled sources, getting the raw data as a matter of national security for Russia and for China.So, in the short term, 2-5 years, it would be good for the US to have a large enough presence to keep their sources safe, reliable and active.
Putin’s idea saves money and manpower and limits casualties for Russia.
It is about time to deal with the Guidos of this world. ““Regime change,” Kinzer’s book tells us, “did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush but has been an integral part of American foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the entire twentieth century and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to topple governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals.” ”
Stephen Gowans
That is the usual way of empire: invade and oppress or overthrow and install a compliant vassal. The latter route is more profitable.
FWIW
I’m always curious as to the view and the reports of the developments in Minsk of ISW, the kagan “think” tank with obvious links/access to the pentagon and to state; their reporting is usually “relatively” correct but with obvious slant and skew against Russia and Belyrus.
Nexta still calling the shots, at least on the surface.
https://www.iswresearch.org/
(scroll for latest)
What we have in Belarus is a color revolution gone wrong. In fact Western intelligence agencies decided to play it “smart” and instigate triple color revolutions, turning the summer of 2020 into a “summer of revolutions”. They began with Serbia, where they tried a coup d’etat using football hooligans, a laughable attempt which took people by surprise. The hooligans were initially joined by teenagers, who backed off once they realized they were being used as stooges. The “demonstrations” in front of the Parliament evaporated, and now they are almost forgotten.
The West then turned to Belarus, of immense importance due to it’s geopolitical position. Again we see demonstrations, which are grossly misrepresented. The old media tricks are again being used. Reporters are again pointing their cameras into the center of the demonstrations, to give the illusion of mass protests, and they are also filming from the air, a big mistake. If one looks carefully, one can see that these aerial shots show demonstrations in just one boulevard, and nowhere else. Lukashenko is still in power, and the demonstrations are slowly evaporating.
With demonstrations in Minsk ongoing, the West decides on a “master stroke”. A false flag is directed against Navalny, a two bit blogger and ‘politician’, who in Russia is known as a “Sorosyata”, or Soros’s little piggy. The intent was to have demonstrations from Belarus spread into Russia, which turned into a laughable failure, as nothing happened. What is remarkable is that the same methods, used in England with the Scripals, were repeated in Russia. In both cases military nerve gas was ostensibly ‘used’, and in both cases the ‘victims’ survive. Very strange indeed. Well, not really, as military nerve gas was obviously not used.The Scripal affair was timed with the presidential elections in Russia and the World Cup in football, the intent being to discredit Putin and sabotage the World Cup. Pathetic failures. The superbly organized World Cup raised Russia’s prestige, while the Navalny affair turned into a black comedy. The behavior of Germany was highly suspicious. Some have suggested that Merkel was just playing along, going behind the NATO/EU initiatives, as Germany is a member of both. Obviously there is some truth in this. However, I doubt if Merkel was playacting. Her performance, and that of her Cabinet ministers, was just a little bit too good, proving that the old Drag Nacht Osten policy is very much alive and in the process opening the eyes of many people. Lavrov reacted accordingly, stating that Russia will temporarily distance its self from the EU. This distancing may well turn out to be permanent, with Russia conducting business on an individual basis with EU countries.
Finally, the statements of Russian and Belorussian defense ministers can be interpreted to mean that Russia will never permit Belarus to be reduced to another Ukraine. I think the West and NATO got the message.
Thank you for the well-considered synopsis, B.F.
Tikhanovskaya, the mousy Minsk housewife, was an unlikely selection to be trounced by Luka in the Belarusian election, but the “opposition” candidate could be anybody, when the narrative is already in place..
In the Russian blogosphere, she is known as Juanita, after infamous “President of Venezuela’ Juan Guano-Guido.. Juanita’s place is at home, ‘cooking the cutlets’, but, discretion being the better part of valor, she left for neo-nazi Lithuania, and began her new life as professional victim of the brutal tyrant Lukashenko..
In a sort of ‘losers victory tour’, Juanita has been wined & dined in the top hotels of ‘mostly’ neo-nazi Europe, and the blogosphere correctly asks who is paying for her lavish new lifestyle.. An amazing photo yesterday of her giving a clenched-fist power salute !
Meanwhile Poland, actively involved with the disruptions in Belarus, is now facing its own Maidan, and behaving like brutal tyrants against their own people.. Instant karma at play..
So Russia will do business with just the countries themselves, and not the EU as an entity. Correct?
(I could recall Pamela sharing articles on a previous Moveable Feast Café about German companies/businesses investing in Russia. Maybe this is part and parcel of that?)
On another note, I can remember Andrei Martyanov writing on his blog about Russia “turning her back on” Europe (or something like that). Does he mean the entire continent, or just the EU as a political entity?
(I’m still not sure where he gets the notion of most Russians no longer wanting to deal with Europe – is there an opinion poll somewhere?)
Digby
If you watched the EU situation correctly, you will have seen that Russia did not have a smooth relationship with the EU. When the US introduced sanctions against Russia, so did the EU. And what happened then ? Some 500 German industrialists went to Russia in order to conduct business, opening subsidiaries, like Mercedes opening it’s plant outside Moscow. This is just one example.
Shoygu – normally a man of very few words, but each one should be weighed carefully – was uncharacteristically loquacious. He obviously wanted to get the message across to the Western “partners”. I’m sure they got the message: “don’t mess with Belarus”.
So, Russian and Belarus militaries are one in all but name?
If or when the shooting starts, they will be completely integrated. Belarusian military trains with the Russians frequently in exercises and competitively in military tournaments. They become like a ten-finger fist if need be.
The Poles instantly changed their tune when Putin made his pronouncement.
The entire “uprising” and Polish-Baltic threat was blocked with the mere words that Russia would go to the western borders of Belarus and defend them as if they were Russia’s borders.
Game Over. The two militaries share a history of blood, suffering and glory against the Nazis and nothing has changed over the 75 years since to separate them.
Larchmonter445
Well spoken. Belarus, like Ukraine, is a product of communism. The “rus” in “Belarus” signifies “Russian”. There is no reason for the country to be outside the Russian Federation. I am looking forward for Belarus to be unified with Russia.
This was done to give the Soviet Union 3 votes in the UN
@ B.F. I would have expected Belarus to be integrated into Russia as a region and several oblasts decades ago. I do not understand why Belarus still exists. This is not a reflection on the Belarussians, but a statement of the unfied culture and history they share. With NATA around, smaller states are being picked off one by one. Better to take ‘solid sides’ and make a decision rather than ‘wishy washy’ stalling that puts your entire nation at risk. Belarus needs a referendum on reintegration. Only then will Belarus be safe, and Greater Russia all the safer and stronger. Same goes with Donbass and Luhansk. They have suffered too long and for ‘pathetic reasons’. The Duma needs to offer them ‘a path to reintegration’ and assure them that any majority referendum will be recognised and acted on in the interests of the states that hold those referendums.
This is all taking too long. Get on with it. As long as those ‘satelite states’ seem vulnerable and ‘accessible’ NATL will think they are ‘theirs for the taking.’ Enough already.
This is confusing to me as well. Self-interest is at work here. When politicians get hold of a job they tend to forget the greater good . Look at Yugoslavia little Tin Pot governments working for the Empire. In former Yu to get from point A to point B you need to go through ten border crossings. The National debt of Former Yu was about 17 billion when it was partitioned by NATO. Croatia’s debt alone is 20 times what it was for the whole of Yu . Its debt to GDP is 73% while back in the 90s it was under 20% . Everything of value is owned by multinationals and the same is the case in the other republics. Belarus Government Debt to GDP in Belarus averaged 13.72 percent from 2000 until 2020. In US dollars 2020 the debt is about 17 billion.
Just to add to your comment :) Belarus Belo in russian means white and rus is russia in short. So belarus means white Russia
The land around the Black Sea were populated by Germanic Tribes the Goth and the Vise Goth. The Huns pushed them out Westward. The lands East and South of Berlin North of the Danube and South of Lake Ladoga and west of the Urals were populated by Slavic tribes. Russia as we know it today did not exist . Kiev was the original Russian state . .
Kievan Rus: Kingdom of Eastern Slavs, ancestors of the Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians. Kiev city of 100, 000 inhabitants in 1240 , destroyed by the Mongols. After the defeat of the Mongols (Kazan Khanate) Russia grew.
Kievan Rus was the first organized Slavic state. It is widely regarded as the spiritual predecessor to today’s Russian state. When Kiev fell Moscow was founded about the 1300 as Russian tribes moved North into territory where fins lived. .
Kievan Rus: founded in mid-800s by a Viking Rurik and his successors. Influenced by Byzantium accepts Orthodox Christian faith.
The dynasty that ruled over the Kievan Rus and later the Muscovite Rus (early Russia) was of the Scandinavian, Viking origin. Historians suggest Russia got its name from Rurik
The Germanic tribes started pushing the Slavs East and South. Invasions and Religion separated the tribes into what we have today. Religion was the man enemy of their disunity.
A history of blood, indeed!
Belyrus was the focal point of the partisan warfare against the Nazis and that history is covered in the blood of unbelieveably brave Russians (Belyrus, Russia); the Nazis would wipe out entire villages, liquidate their populations (a favorite tactic was to drive the population into churches, schools, large buildings and then set fire to the buildings, shooting anyone trying to get out).
Capture of a partisan was immediate death after torture for some intel on partisan groups.
Belyrussia suffered in excess of 30% casualties, mostly killed, on its population.
Yes and those bastar** based in Lithuania would have collaborated with the Nazis.
and they’d collaborate with the Brits too…………wait, wait, Brit Queen, of Gothes, hmm Gothes, German,,,,,,,,,,wait, wait, the Brits and the Nazis both attacked Russia together….If only the Russian royalty had not backed the US seccesionists and hung with their royal cousin, English may well be the predominant language of Russia today………..aren’t we lucky.
Cheers, M
President Aleksandr Lukashenko is the reason the colour revolution failed. He’s both courageous and genuinely popular and the Belarus people know that without him their country would be sold off to oligarchs (wherever they are from, I am *not* pointing only at the West) and they will be in the same state of unemployment and destitution as other ex Soviet republics.
Absolutely true. But the situation could have been radically different had Lukashenko decide to bend the knee like every other state (with the exception of Sweden, until recently that is since now they are imposing restrictions) and impose COVID lockdowns. If he had done so, the color revolution may have actually succeeded.
Considering that the pandemic and resulting global lockdowns constitute the first phase of the “Great Reset,” the successful resistance of Belarus in this regard should be taken note of by other nations under siege by the globalist Adversary.
The irony of this attempt to oust Lukashenko is that his government has maintained close relations with Israel and the Zionists have their fair share of investments and tech start-ups in Belarus.
When you invite the Zionists inside and even allow them visa-free access to your nation, catastrophe and disaster are sure to inevitably follow.
A long time ago, in England, when trouble makers tried to institute a “colored revolution”, they were severely punished.
The favorite method was that used against the Guy Fawkes conspirators – auto-de-fé in public. The other method was hanging, drawing and quartering. I think that if people like Guido and his Belorussian counterpart knew that there was a price to pay, they might be reluctant to play the role of puppets.
” I think that if people like Guido and his Belorussian counterpart knew that there was a price to pay, they might be reluctant to play the role of puppets.”
This would lessen the utility of useful fools: doing so in context would be as naive as the opponents’ efforts to punish “whistleblowers”.
A more delicate option would be to continue to allow the opponents to oscillate between encouraging the puppets to be aware of the “benefits” of puppethood, and the disadvantages of “non-puppethood”.
Such thoughts often occur to me. If, as seems certain, some European political leaders are openly in the pay of the US government, why can they not be indicted and, if found guilty, punished to the full extent of the law?
However they rely on the military strength of the USA, which has encouraged Washington to threaten actual invasion of any country rash enough to try US citizens for war crimes.
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason”.
– Sir John Harrington (1561-1612) (Epigrams, Book iv. Ep. 5).
Epigrams are often diversions clothed as synopses, often rendered tautological by immersion in ideological constructs such as “treason”, “law”, and “leaders”.
Mr. Harringtom like some of his contemporaries was aware of various tools of deception to apparently facilitate “none dareness”, and also some of the benefits to be derived from useful foolery.
“Perfidious Albion” did once reflect this designation, and continues to attempt to do so, enmazed in illusions of precedent and sole/prime agency, in illustration of the half-life of “Imperial thinking” and their complicity in its transcendence.
In the next primaries, I bet we are going to hear a parade of idiot Republican challengers, Pence, Cotton, Rubio, and others pound the lectern and snarl, ‘Biden / Harris let Minsk fall into the hands of the Russians’. The Russian empire is being rebuilt, one referendum at a time. We must stop this march.
Regarding this article, the U.S. is turning Eastern Europe into a powder keg. It’s not good that Belarus believes that it has to create stockpiles but eh, we don’t see any cost to us so our aggression will continue. The best way to stop our aggression would be to drive our interest rates up to 3% and force us to pay $1T of annual debt service. At that point we might be interested in avoiding arms races or collapse like the Soviet Union did but as long as we can drive interest rates to 0% then we will just keep funding aggression.
And that Turkey is making nice with Ukraine while threatening Armenia is part of the big plan. The Azeris are just playing with their weapons and doing the dirty work supported by, who else? the Israelis.
Iran is smart enough to realize that it needs to support Armenia and it looks as if we will be seeing a statement soon from the Russians military concerning Armenia.
Maybe this can be nipped in the bud before a festering low level crisis situation in Artsakh develops a la Kashmir.
This is not off topic as the toe bone is connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone connected to the leg bone etc.
The Beast is hungry and it wants the wealth of Russia.
Next after Belarus is probably Moldova with mid November elections. Reported from public airtraffic flights of CIA proxy aircraft with probable headchoppers from Libya etc., recorded landings in Sofia and Bucharest. Ref. Armswatch!!?? Chaos is absolute =CIA.. Those Serbian and Bulgarian military ordance travel on possible outward flights.. Keep the ball rolling Langley!! No COVID or Xmas break for Clancy spooks… .
Also you have the “terrorist attack” in Vienna past day, just the day before US elections..and on a synagogue which was closed at the time, if it was “very professionaly planned” as Sebastian Kurtz stated, why did they not consult the tiemtable?, ..This happened to benefit Trump all the way..
Of all the media, Israel’s Channel 20 was the first to get the exclusive video of the attack, featuring an old known of the intelligence services linked to IS…This time he did not leave the identity card at the place…
glad to see i am not alone in noticing those coincidences anonmouse.
‘The Republic of Belarus was and remains our closest neighbour, reliable ally and strategic partner’
Hint to Americans not au fait with subtlety:
‘our closest neighbour’ means ‘our equivalent of Cuba, Yankee Doodle Dandies’.
‘reliable ally’ means ‘not gagging to join the EU, NATO and become US slaves’.
‘strategic partner’ means ‘as important to us in Russia in 2020 as Poland was to the UK in 1939’.
So this, in diplomatic terms, is saying: ‘This is a stick-up. Drop your weapons or else!’
The fact that the statement was issued on US Presidential Election day was no doubt planned long in advance.
IT is telling the new incumbent:’you’ve got your plummeting economy back home, sort that out instead of incessantly meddling in matters which are none of your business.’
The Russians really are very polite diplomats, aren’t they?
Perish the thought of what they might say if they had to raise their voices for once, eh?