At a CSTO session, Lukashenka rejected accusations that Belarus is preparing for war with NATO by 2030

Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka said on 11 November that Minsk and Moscow are not preparing for war against NATO and the European Union. He spoke at a session of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Moscow, held in a narrow format.

According to Lukashenka, Belarus and Russia are being reproached for preparing to fight NATO and the entire European Union by 2030. "We are reproached, especially Belarus and Russia, for preparing for war by 2030 and being ready to fight against NATO and the entire European Union. There is nothing of the kind in Belarus and Russia. We have said this several times already," he said.

The threat, according to the president, comes from the continuing militarisation of Western countries. He said troops and special units are training near the borders, and hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent on arms purchases. European countries, he claimed, are effectively shifting their economies onto a war footing, increasing investment in the defence industry.

Belarusian state media cite data indicating that NATO's military budget has grown more than 2 times over the past 10 years.

Minsk's position, as Lukashenka presents it, is to reject the accusations and to seek a single security architecture. Belarusian state media also say that attempts are being made around the world to create an image of a "grey zone" for the CIS countries, and that the pressure on them is aimed at destroying integration ties.

The remarks about troop training near Belarusian borders come against the backdrop of the opening, on 7 November in the Borisov district, of a renovated training centre of the Military Academy. According to Belarusian state media, the centre has a field for the use of drones, on which particular emphasis is placed.