Minsk, December 11 — RIA Novosti. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, First Deputy Minister of Defense Viktor Gulewicz decidedthat the republic does not see any tendency to reduce the number of NATO troops near the country’s western border, including as part of the announced rotation.
«If we take into account the borders of Belarus with NATO countries, then the groups of the United States, Western European countries that are concentrated in neighboring countries — in the Baltic states, in Poland — do not tend to shrink,» Gulevich said in an interview with STV on Sunday .
He noted that the Belarusian side is taking actions in response to these actions, including the deployment of battalion-tactical groups in threatened directions at certain stages of the development of the situation. “But once response action has been taken, we are returning our units back to their permanent deployment points. It is not visible from Western countries. Now the rotation of the American contingent has been announced. Yes, they arrived unloaded, but (with respect to) these (unit — ed.) are in their deployment locations until we see them leave somewhere,» Gulevich said.
