BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/05/2007

Russia, Belarus should jointly seek adequate response to Europe's ABM -Lukashenko

MINSK. May 29 (Interfax) - Russia and Belarus will be able to find an adequate response to U.S. attempts to deploy elements of its missile defense in Europe through increasing military cooperation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"Russia can find the most adequate and asymmetric response to the deployment of missile defense systems in Europe only together with Belarus," the president said at a meeting with a delegation of Russia's Siberian Federal District headed by Governor of the Krasnoyarsk territory Alexander Khloponin on Tuesday in Minsk.

"We are ready to play our part, together with Russia, in reacting to U.S. attempts to deploy missile systems in Europe. I think this is unacceptable," he said.

Stressing the importance of bilateral cooperation on the issue, Lukashenko said: "Russia's military men know this." "We could have kept silent, but we openly state that this is our zone of responsibility. We have created a single group and we will play our role, as we have vowed," the president said.

"Today the Belarusian army when relying on Russia can do a lot," he said. "This is hard to do single-handedly. At the same time, the Russian army will do nothing in the West without Belarus, because Russia has nothing to the West from Moscow," Lukashenko said, adding: "This is valued; however, no one takes this into account besides military men."

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/276652/news.aspx