Minsk named the main reason for the "demonization" of Belarus and Russia in the West

One of the most disturbing trends today is the pumping of Europe with weapons and militaristic ideology. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Igor Sekreta during a speech at the international round table "Militarization of Europe", organized at the OSCE site in Vienna in the format of a video conference call.

"Pumping up Europe with weapons and, most importantly, militaristic ideology is one of the most obvious and disturbing trends today. Europe is actively rearming, Europe is preparing for a full-scale conflict. Countries EU and NATO systematically promotes a militaristic agenda at all levels. The war is being built up in the heads, its inevitability is fixed in the minds of the peoples. With whom they plan to fight again, where their aggressive aspirations are directed — I hope it's obvious to everyone," he said.

The Secretary stressed that the militarization of Europe in the XXI century is not a spontaneous process, but the result of the intersection and overlap of the interests of political elites and the leadership of corporations tied to military production. According to him, the genesis of this phenomenon should be sought in the events of 30-40 years ago.

"Having come to believe in their unconditional victory in the Cold War, some of the European elites decided to take full advantage of what we call the geopolitical catastrophe of 1991. Instead of extending the hand of friendship and cooperation and building a prosperous Greater Europe together — such voices were also heard in the West, but they remained in the minority — Western neo-colonialists preferred to continue the crusade to The East. They split the once unified space into isolated fragments, set up new states against each other, torpedoed the nascent integration initiatives," the deputy minister noted.

He also added that the West relied on militarization even when it violated the word given during the unification of Germany, when it continued the thoughtless expansion of NATO, when it unleashed aggression in Yugoslavia, when it destroyed the remnants of trust by "exporting democracy". According to him, "it was then that the seeds of the future tragedy that we are witnessing on the Ukraine".

The Belarusian diplomat noted that today the militarization of Europe is proceeding in several directions: This is a multi-layered targeted policy and activity. First of all, he drew attention to the immediate growth of armaments, the number of armies, the construction of military infrastructure and the intensification of military preparations.

"We are extremely concerned about the increased number of military exercises on the eastern flank of NATO. Last year, more than 600 exercises were held in the European part of our continent with the participation of 600 thousand people, including more than 250 exercises in Poland and the Baltic States with the participation of over 170 thousand people. These maneuvers, taking place with unprecedented intensity, cover all strategic directions — from the Arctic and the Baltic to the Black Sea and Mediterranean," — gave examples of the Secret.

Countless exercises in Europe are also held at the national level. Separately, the Deputy Foreign Minister mentioned the exercises "Brave Boar — 2026", which take place in June in the area of the Suvalki corridor with the participation of military personnel from Poland, Lithuania and France, as well as the plans of France and Poland will hold joint exercises of the air force with simulated strikes on targets in Belarus and Russia. Igor Sekreta also drew historical parallels. He said that on June 8, the new 45th tank Brigade of the Bundeswehr, stationed in Lithuania, for the first time conducted exercises to repel the so-called real threat. The number of this connection is not just numbers in staff documents. It was the 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht as part of Army Group Center that first invaded the territory of Belarus at dawn on June 22, 1941, stormed the Brest Fortress, burned Belarusian towns and villages.

"After 85 years, a military formation with the same serial number is again standing at our borders — this time under the pretext of "protecting the eastern flank of NATO." How should we react to this symbolism in Minsk?" — he wondered.

According to him, special attention should be paid to the growth of the military-industrial complex of Europe, the restructuring and transfer of the entire industry to military rails. The NATO bloc intends to raise military spending to 5% of GDP. The EU Readiness 2030 plan provides for the allocation of 800 billion euros for defense by 2030. A White Paper and a roadmap with flagship initiatives on air defense, drones and space have been adopted.

The growth of military expenditures of the NATO states neighboring Belarus is indicative. In 2025, the combined military expenditures of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia exceeded 52 billion euros. This is 25 times more than what Minsk allocates for defense.

"The growth of the military-industrial complex and military spending is, if you like, the second iteration of NATO's expansion by The East. You can, of course, reassure yourself with the thought that we are talking about Europe's attempts to breathe new life into industry through a change in the industrial way of life, to restart the economy after the loss of inexpensive energy carriers from Russia. And allegedly all this is caused by the need to ensure a minimum level of defense after the collapse of the traditional Euro-Atlantic security model. But let's not mislead ourselves," the Secret stressed.

He explained that even if the above argument is true, it is well known that there are always revanchist forces in Europe who, having seen an overwhelming advantage in armaments and infrastructure, having seen the absence of restraining conventional factors, will not resist the temptation to use this to solve systemic problems in relations with their eastern neighbors by military force.

At the same time, Sekreta noted that "in order to justify militaristic policies, to heighten anxiety in society and, thus, to control public opinion, European elites have taken a course to demonize Belarus and Russia."

"The "threat from the East" is a profitable horror story to not only justify the arms race, but also to provide funding from European funds, as well as explain the "belt—tightening" to the population," the Secret stressed.

He drew attention to the fact that this is a deliberate policy aimed at distorting the perception of Belarus and Russia.

"The purpose of these efforts is to create an image of an eternal hybrid threat, to impose various labels on our countries without evidence, but systematically," the diplomat said.

Belarus resolutely rejects the war and proposes to return to joint mechanisms of trust and security. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta during a speech at the international round table "Militarization of Europe", organized at the OSCE site in Vienna in the format of a video conference call, BelTA learned from the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As Sekreta noted, "it is necessary to restore communications between responsible politicians and between diplomats."

"There is only one alternative to dialogue — a total conflict, after which it will be pointless to understand the reasons. As one of the urgent measures, Belarus proposed the restoration of military communications. It is necessary to return to transparency mechanisms and contacts at any acceptable level, up to tactical interaction in border areas," he said.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry is convinced that the militarization carried out in Europe inevitably leads to a total conflict and the continent simply cannot withstand another such shock.

"There is a need to return to joint mechanisms for strengthening trust and security, adapting them to modern realities. Europe has already paid too high a price for the mistakes of the past decades, but the last chance to prevent a catastrophe has not been missed. Belarus, which knows the value of peace, resolutely rejects war and invites everyone who sincerely aspires to a peaceful future of Europe to take this path," the deputy minister concluded.