Belarus sees risks in concentration of NATO forces near its border: defense minister

Belarus sees additional risks in view of the deployment of additional NATO military forces near its border, Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov has said.

"Along with the reinforcement of the air force component of NATO members in the Baltic states and Poland for the sake of protecting the air space, NATO systematically concentrates additional military forces with heavy weapon systems near the Belarusian border," Ravkov said in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS.

Belarus' military and political leadership have taken into account the deployment of additional NATO forces near the country' s border in forming the army's training plan for the academic year of 2014-2015, he was quoted as saying.

Ravkov stressed that Belarus believes that at present no country is a potential enemy but every country has the right to defend its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

"Prepared armed forces are necessary for that and we are understanding about military preparations in other countries," he said.

Concerning the cooperation between Belarus and NATO, Ravkov stressed that this interaction meets national interests of the country and will not affect the development of allied relations with Russia.

Belarus-NATO relations are part of Minsk's "multi-vector foreign policy and are aimed at maintaining good-neighborly relations with all countries in the region and in the world," he said. Endite