Defense Ministers of Belarus and Ukraine discussed openness during military exercises near the shared border

February 14, BPN. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov discussed “the implementation of measures to increase confidence and transparency during military exercises near the border” in a phone conversation on February 14, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The sides expressed their interest in “avoiding potential incidents” and in “mutual reporting on the development of emergency situations.”

In order to “strengthen mutual trust,” an agreement was reached on the visits of Belarusian and Ukrainian defense attachés to the military exercise Blizzard 2022 held by Ukraine, and Union Resolve 2022 with the participation of the Russian military on the territory of Belarus.

According to Reznikov, his Belarusian colleague assured him of “the absence of risks and threats to Ukraine from the territory of the Republic of Belarus.” He described the conversation as a “positive signal” and “the first step towards fruitful cooperation.”

The press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Defense noted that the conversation was initiated by the Ukrainian side. Bilateral cooperation in the military sphere was discussed, as well as “specific steps to strengthen the atmosphere of trust and security in the region.”

The ministers “expressed confidence” that the Armed Forces training activities do not pose a “threat to the security of the two fraternal countries,” said the Belarusian side.

According to Chrenin, Belarus “did not initiate tensions in relations between Belarus and Ukraine.”

On February 14, at a meeting in Minsk with Oleksandr Moroz, the former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (he held office in 1994-1998 and 2006-2007), Aliaksandr Lukašenka said that the exercise Union Resolve was a response to the “flow of weapons” and “inflow of saboteurs” from the Ukrainian territory.