DISINFO: Belarus’ Lukashenko mocking Russia by carrying out a military exercise with NATO and UK
SUMMARY
Belarus’ president Lukashenko is mocking Russia by carrying out a joint military exercise with NATO and the United Kingdom. British troops will deploy in what not so long ago the West considered “an advanced post of tyranny” and against which it still keeps some sanctions.
RESPONSE
As a sovereign country independent since 1991, Belarus has every right to take part in military exercises with any country it wishes according to international law. The British and Belarusian armies have already cooperated for military exchanges in previous years. The event is held on a bilateral basis in the framework of cooperation in the training of peacekeeping personnel, aiming at Belarus' participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. According to Belarusian Defence Minister, Oleg Belokonev, the country wants to remain close to Russia but with a military training connection to NATO, as is the case of Serbia. This is part of a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denying the existence of a Belarusian nationhood separated from Russia. This narrative has increased since 2018 amidst Russian pressure to further integrate both countries into a single Union State. You can see other examples in our database, such as allegations that genuine independence will only be possible in a union with Russia, that pro-Western development would mean the end of Belarus, or that the US wants to turn Belarus into a Russophobic country, destroy its economy and statehood, orchestrate a colour revolution, a coup and a foreign invasion and turn it into a colony of the West.