A senior US State Department official said on Tuesday that proposed changes to the Belarusian constitution indicate Minsk's plans to allow both Russian conventional and nuclear forces to be stationed on its territory. They also claimed that Russia could deploy its troops to Belarus under the pretext of military drill to potentially attack Ukraine from the northern direction.
"We had a look at this bizarre briefing. It is an astonishing collection of fantasies and horror stories. Also, it was done absolutely intentionally, even the anonymous delivery indicates this," Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said, accusing Washington of making false statements to aggravate the situation and justify its "illegal actions."
The official stated that Minsk is not obligated to report to Washington but "if something causes concern, we are always ready to discuss it in a civilized manner."
In December, Russia presented draft proposals on security guarantees in Europe to the United States and NATO. On 10 January, Russia and the US held a round of the strategic stability dialogue in Geneva, followed by the first NATO-Russia Council since 2019 in Brussels on 12 January and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe talks in Vienna the next day. Russia-Ukraine relations were high on the agenda during talks.