News

On 9 February, in view of the lack of information on the joint military exercise Allied Resolution 2022 of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia, Lithuania, together with Latvia and Estonia, requested from Belarus a detailed explanation of an unusual military build-up in the country.

Lithuania took advantage of the opportunity offered by the Vienna Document on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (Chapter III: Risk Reduction) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to activate the Mechanism for Consultation and Co-operation as regards unusual Military Activities. The Baltic states have submitted questions to Belarus about the unusual troop build-up for exercises in the territory of Belarus, the military equipment used, the number of Russian and Belarusian soldiers participating, and the planned return to their usual deployment location. Belarus is obliged, under the terms of the Vienna Document, to answer by 11 February.

“We urge Belarus to respect its international commitments and to provide information on the nature and scale of the military drills. Avoidance to transparently provide information on the military exercises and the deployment of Russian troops in Belarus, and so uphold the international commitments, raises serious concerns over aggressive intentions of Russia and Belarus,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis.

 The Vienna Document is a key confidence and security building measure, through which transparency is built and risk is reduced.