MINSK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2021) Belarus offers to "freeze" the increase in military spending within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in order to reduce tensions and boost trust between the countries, the defense ministry said on Tuesday.
The proposals were outlined in a report that Oleg Voinov, the chief of the defense ministry's department for international cooperation, presented at an OSCE meeting.
"Gen. Oleg Voiov announced which measures the Republic of Belarus offers to strengthen international and regional security amid modern challenges and threats: ... freezing the process of boosting military potential and spending, and the scale and intensity of military activities, which will reduce tensions in the region and improve trust between the interested parties," the Belarusian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram.
The defense official called on the OSCE to exercise restraint on temporary and constant deployment of additional foreign troops and facilities in the region.
Apart from that, Voinov invited the OSCE to start "talks on a new regime of control over conventional weapons in Europe, reflecting the current military and political situation and confirming the ban on deployment of ground-based ballistic and cruised missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers on the European continent."
Voinov also spoke in favor of resuming "proper functioning of the Open Skies Treaty."
