US warns Belarus of fallout if it allows its territory to be used for attack on Ukraine
Belarus would face a swift and decisive response from the United States and its allies and partners if it were to allow its territory to be used for an attack on Ukraine, Ned Price, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, said at a press briefing on Jan. 25.
Russian troops have recently been deployed to Belarus as part of previously unscheduled military exercises. However, Russian equipment has been spotted along the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, far from the announced zone of the exercises.
“... In recent days we’ve also made clear to Belarus that if it allows its territory to be used for an attack on Ukraine, it would face a swift and decisive response from the United States and our allies and partners,” Price said.
Price said Russia’s surging of troops into Belarus was “a cause for deep concern, and threatens Belarus’s sovereignty.”
At the same time, the spokesperson noted that “if an invasion were to proceed from Belarus, if Russian troops were to permanently station on their territory, NATO could well have to reassess our own force posture in the countries that border Belarus.”
On Jan. 21, another railway train with Russian military equipment and personnel arrived at the Brest-Yuzhny railway station in Belarus.
However, Belarus’s Defense Ministry stated that the military would “test the Union State’s response forces.”
The unscheduled exercises, dubbed the “Union Resolve 2022 Russia-Belarus joint drills,” are taking place amid Russia’s military buildup near the borders of Ukraine and a threat of invasion into its territory.
The United States suspects that Russian troops currently being deployed to Belarus could indicate further preparations for an invasion of Ukraine.
While Russia has denied plans to invade, it has also refused to provide assurances that it would not do so, instead demanding that it be provided with “security guarantees” by the United States and NATO.
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