MINSK (Sputnik) – The minister added that Belarus is monitoring the situation and trying to take relevant measures including putting new weapons into service.
“We see that additional NATO troops are being deployed in a number of our western neighboring states. Of course, we do not perceive it as a direct threat to our military security but we regard it as a potential military, security challenge for the Republic of Belarus,” Makei told reporters as quoted on the Belarusian Foreign Ministry's website.
At the July NATO Warsaw Summit, members of the alliance agreed to deploy four battalions in eastern Europe: US troops in Poland, British forces in Estonia, German troops in Lithuania and Canadian forces in Latvia.
Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in eastern European countries bordering Russia, using Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine as a pretext for the move.
