NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that staff at Belarus’s diplomatic mission in the alliance will be restricted from entering its headquarters following the forcible landing of a passenger plane from Minsk and the arrest of an opposition journalist. who was on board the aircraft.
“We have decided to restrict the entry of Belarusian personnel to NATO headquarters based on our assessment of security measures at headquarters,” Stoltenberg told reporters on 31 May on the eve of a meeting of the defense and NATO foreign ministers.
The move is said to include a Belarusian ambassador and four other diplomats.
“They can still enter, but only as visitors with a passing day and an escort,” a NATO official was quoted as saying.
Belarus is not a NATO member but has held a diplomatic mission in the Western military alliance since 1998.
Belarusian personnel can attend seminars and meetings in alliance and NATO countries as part of a Partnership for Peace co-operation program addressing issues such as arms control and crisis management.
The forced landing of a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania on May 23 from Belarus and the arrest of journalist and opposition activist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, who was traveling with him, have sparked international outrage.
NATO has called for an independent international investigation into the incident, saying the unacceptable act seriously violates the norms governing civil aviation and endangers the lives of passengers and crew.
“This is not only something that is violating international norms and rules, but also a direct attack on freedom of expression and a free and independent press,” Stoltenberg said, welcoming the sanctions imposed on Minsk by EU and NATO member states.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters that Moscow – the authoritarian leader of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenkas – the main supporter – will continue to provide support for Minsk in the face of Western sanctions.
“It simply came to our notice then [provide support to Belarus]. We are both part of the State of the Union, “Ryabkov said, without specifying what measures Moscow could take.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has in recent years pushed Lukashenko to take steps toward integrating their economies in order to cement a 20-year deal to form a union state.
Lukashenko has dismissed pressure, but unprecedented street protests for the August 2020 presidential election and subsequent Western sanctions have weakened his negotiating position with the Russian president.
NATO foreign and defense ministers meeting in Brussels on May 31st will focus on preparations for a summit to be held in the Belgian capital on June 14th.
The ministers will also discuss issues such as alliance engagement in Afghanistan, as well as developments in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, Stoltenberg said.
The meeting comes amid a low point in relations between NATO allies and Russia, authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenko, a key supporter.
“What we are seeing is a pattern of Russian behavior where Russia in recent years has invested heavily in new modern military capabilities from conventional to nuclear weapons systems,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Moscow was ready to use force. military action against neighbors Georgia and Ukraine, continuing to destabilize Eastern Ukraine and illegally annexing Crimea.
“And then we saw more Russian military presence in the high north, in the Barents Sea and in the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad, the Black Sea, and also as far as the Mediterranean and the Middle East. And this is one of the main reasons why NATO during in recent years it has increased the readiness of the forces “.
Stoltenberg was answering a question about Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigus’ announcement earlier on May 31 that his country would deploy about 20 new military formations and units near its western borders by the end of the year for him. opposed what he claimed was a growing threat from the transatlantic. alliance.
