Moscow. February 7. INTERFAX-AVN - Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that he was not aware of plans to create a joint command of the allied forces of Russia and Belarus
"I don't have information about any joint command, I've never heard of it," Peskov told reporters on Monday.
This is how he responded to a request to comment on the interview of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to journalist Vladimir Solovyov, which raised questions about the military ranks of the presidents of the Russian Federation and Belarus. In particular, Lukashenko said that Vladimir Putin had promised to raise him to the rank of colonel, and noted that in this case Putin could be promoted to the rank of general. In this regard, Peskov was asked whether there could be talk about the prospects of creating a kind of "joint command of the allied forces of Russia and Belarus", within which military ranks can be assigned.
"Rather, it was a figure of speech," Peskov said.
The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation said that Putin cannot promote Lukashenko in the rank, because he is the president of the Russian Federation, and Lukashenko is the president and a citizen of Belarus. "The President of the Russian Federation has no right to assign military ranks in the armed forces of another state," Peskov said.
Russia and Belarus are checking the reaction forces of the Union State. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin, it is planned to redeploy and create groups of troops by February 9. From February 10 to 20, the joint exercises "Allied Determination - 2022" will be held.
The Russian military announced the arrival of a number of units and units of the Eastern Military District with regular weapons in Belarus for exercises. In addition, it was officially reported that the Russian S-400 Triumph long-range air defense system, the Pantsir-S division of short-range air defense systems, Su-35 multi-purpose fighters of the fourth generation and Su-25SM attack aircraft were relocated to Belarus for maneuvers.
The maneuvers are taking place against the backdrop of a crisis in relations between Russia and NATO. The United States, other NATO countries and Ukraine announced the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and the threat of a Russian invasion.
On January 30, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that Russia does not want to fight with Ukraine, there is no threat from Moscow.
