West actively preparing for direct military showdown, Belarusian defense minister asserts

The West is actively investing in weapons and preparing for a direct military clash, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin asserted at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.

"Intensive military preparations are underway in the West; enormous sums of money are being invested in this. It is necessary to understand that, in the capitalist world, nobody will tie their assets up in [long-term investments in costly] weaponry and in beefing up the ranks of the army for nothing," he said. "So, one can make an unambiguous conclusion: The possibility of a direct military clash with NATO in the future is becoming more and more evident," he explained.

As the Belarusian defense minister noted, the only thing holding the power structures of the "global 1%" back from unleashing a large-scale war is the threat of a nuclear response to their actions. "It is no accident that the Republic of Belarus is considering returning tactical nuclear weapons to its soil as a potent element of strategic containment," he stressed.

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 The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is an appropriate response to the rapid militarization of Eastern Europe, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in his message to participants in the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.

"By deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, we are appropriately responding to the rapid militarization of Eastern Europe and the increased military activities of the United States and NATO," Lukashenko pointed out, as cited by his press service, TASS reported.

However, this does not cancel out the peace initiatives that Minsk is promoting "in order to relaunch a dialogue on issues pertaining to European and global security on an equal footing," he added.

The Belarusian leader stressed that the international situation was tense like never before. "International laws on arms control have been discredited," Lukashenko noted, adding: "The risks are growing that weapons of mass destruction will be used, particularly for provocations involving nuclear and biological weapons."