Lukashenka warns of possible new world war
Zakhar SHCHARBAKOW, Naviny.by
9 September 2019, 11:29
The consequences of the withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) may lead to a new war, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said Tuesday in Minsk while speaking at an international conference on counter-terrorism.
In his speech, the Belarusian leader noted the degradation of the fundamental basics of international security.
One of the reasons for the degradation process is the destruction of trust between countries, he said.
According to Mr. Lukashenka, the latest “sad example” is the termination of the INF Treaty.
“You probably realize that a few years later we will start fighting this evil, spending money and holding conferences,” he said. “And those guilty of violating these [peace] agreements will probably be the initiators of such conferences. So isn’t it better to stop now?”
“This was the case with terrorism,” he said. “Look at the example of Afghanistan. We ourselves cause these processes and problems that we will fight tomorrow. But as for the problem I have just mentioned… Terrorism that we are fighting today will simply fade into insignificance compared with this problem in a couple of years. If we do not stop, it will be the first step to a new war. God forbid that nuclear weapons should be used during this war.”
Mr. Lukashenka pointed out that the possibility of the deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles “in our quiet, peaceful and well-fed Europe” was the road to an increase in tension on the continent and a new spiral of the arms race, “which has already begun and is unfolding very quickly.”
The leading countries are so focused on this arms race that “dozens and hundreds of people” are killed during the testing of new weapons, he noted.
“In order to restore trust, Belarus consistently and persistently promotes the idea of resuming a large-scale international dialogue [on security] both at the regional and global levels,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “Without general willingness to hold a new talks process that would stabilize international relations can we guarantee the security of our countries and peoples.”
“It is necessary to look for a uniting agenda and new ideas that would be shared by a wide range of states and international organizations,” he said. “One of them, in my view, should be the countering of the deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles in the European region.”
According to Mr. Lukashenka, if the involved countries promised not to deploy intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe, they would make a “huge” contribution to the strengthening of security.
He pointed out that the Belarusian authorities were “no idealists” and saw all the difficulties that a new global peace-building process could face with “amid the existing disagreements.” “But the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other global bans on other types of weapons of mass destruction once seemed impossible too,” he said.
“I am sure that joint efforts to preserve the achievements of the INF Treaty on our continent would be an important step in the global dialogue aimed at restoring trust,” he stressed.
9 September 2019, 11:29
In his speech, the Belarusian leader noted the degradation of the fundamental basics of international security.
One of the reasons for the degradation process is the destruction of trust between countries, he said.
According to Mr. Lukashenka, the latest “sad example” is the termination of the INF Treaty.
“You probably realize that a few years later we will start fighting this evil, spending money and holding conferences,” he said. “And those guilty of violating these [peace] agreements will probably be the initiators of such conferences. So isn’t it better to stop now?”
“This was the case with terrorism,” he said. “Look at the example of Afghanistan. We ourselves cause these processes and problems that we will fight tomorrow. But as for the problem I have just mentioned… Terrorism that we are fighting today will simply fade into insignificance compared with this problem in a couple of years. If we do not stop, it will be the first step to a new war. God forbid that nuclear weapons should be used during this war.”
Mr. Lukashenka pointed out that the possibility of the deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles “in our quiet, peaceful and well-fed Europe” was the road to an increase in tension on the continent and a new spiral of the arms race, “which has already begun and is unfolding very quickly.”
The leading countries are so focused on this arms race that “dozens and hundreds of people” are killed during the testing of new weapons, he noted.
“In order to restore trust, Belarus consistently and persistently promotes the idea of resuming a large-scale international dialogue [on security] both at the regional and global levels,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “Without general willingness to hold a new talks process that would stabilize international relations can we guarantee the security of our countries and peoples.”
“It is necessary to look for a uniting agenda and new ideas that would be shared by a wide range of states and international organizations,” he said. “One of them, in my view, should be the countering of the deployment of intermediate and short-range missiles in the European region.”
According to Mr. Lukashenka, if the involved countries promised not to deploy intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe, they would make a “huge” contribution to the strengthening of security.
He pointed out that the Belarusian authorities were “no idealists” and saw all the difficulties that a new global peace-building process could face with “amid the existing disagreements.” “But the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and other global bans on other types of weapons of mass destruction once seemed impossible too,” he said.
“I am sure that joint efforts to preserve the achievements of the INF Treaty on our continent would be an important step in the global dialogue aimed at restoring trust,” he stressed.
