Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Fr. File photoMINSK, May 5.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the sudden check of the reaction forces in Belarus is connected with NATO actions, and not with the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Sputnik Belarus reports. «This is not so much connected with the special operation in Ukraine, how much with the actions of your armed forces, the NATO bloc (especially in Poland and the Baltic States) and the escalation of the situation around Belarus. Recently, the situation has been escalated even more violently, I would say. And, of course, the Armed Forces — I tell you in plain text — we are forced to respond to this,» he said in an interview with the Associated Press. According to Lukashenka, Minsk «saw that, including the United States of America, Great Britain and, in general, the countries of the NATO bloc are moving troops to our border.» «There were 3,000 of them a few years ago, now there are 32,000. Therefore, we cannot but react,» the Belarusian leader said. The prime ministers of Russia and Belarus discussed Western sanctions and the fuel and energy complex
