This week, on August 20, the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023", which began its work on August 14 in Kubinka near Moscow, is coming to an end. A delegation from Belarus took an active part in the event, which is undoubtedly very logical. It is obvious that in the context of the hybrid war that the collective West is waging against the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the intensification of integration processes in the field of defense becomes necessary for the survival of both subjects of the state association.
It should be noted that such a large-scale weapons exhibition, which is held annually, also serves as a platform for constructive discussion of professional issues, exchange of accumulated experience, study of the latest achievements in the field of introducing advanced technologies into the production and modernization of weapons, military and special equipment. In addition, as part of the work to ensure the military, economic, technological and information security of the Union State, its subjects are creating a single defense space, strengthening military-technical and economic cooperation.
Already today, one can feel the effectiveness and potential of this common defense space of the Union State, – says Sergey Klishevich, deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. "It is such that no country that today lives by some rules alien to them will risk taking any measures (in relation to Belarus and Russia). Unless, of course, they are forced to do it," the parliamentarian is convinced. In addition, the deputy assured that the security issues of the state are constantly under the control of the president, and everything is being done in Belarus to avoid aggression against the Union State. "We show our opponents our intentions in case of anything, and they are far from being a joke, and our society, including thanks to the media, sees this," Sergey Klishevich said. In his opinion, one of such demonstration tasks will be solved during the joint operational exercise "Shield of the Union-2023", which Russia and Belarus will hold on Russian territory on September 20. It should be recalled that the Belarusian and Russian military will work out the topic of repelling aggression against the Union State and other operational and tactical issues that are necessary for the defense of Russia and Belarus today.
In general, Sergey Klishevich is confident that close cooperation in the military sphere in accordance with the unified military doctrine of the Union State will ensure the prevention of any kind of aggression and the prevention of large-scale military conflicts on the territory of the Union State.
Earlier, the Military-Political Review in its materials ("The West played an invaluable role in supporting the unification of Moscow and Minsk") focused readers' attention on the fact that the military potential of any state is closely linked and directly depends on its economic capabilities. In this context, it should be noted that in parallel with the work of the International Military-Technical Forum "Army-2023", a number of events were held aimed at developing economic ties between the Republic of Belarus and the regions of the Russian Federation within the framework of the integration of the subjects of the Union State.
Thus, on August 15, a meeting between the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and the Governor of the Tomsk region of Russia Vladimir Mazur took place in Minsk. It was noted at the meeting that last year the volume of trade between the parties increased by 47% and amounted to almost $23 million. Positive dynamics is also observed this year: for the first half of the year, growth is still almost 30%. "But it is absolutely obvious that this is extremely small. The turnover can and should be at least two or three times more. There are plenty of growth points," the Belarusian head of state drew attention.
On the same day, a working meeting of the Ministry of Economy of Belarus and the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia was held on the issues of working out the implementation of joint projects in the Far East and the Arctic. During the meeting, representatives of a number of Belarusian enterprises specializing in the production of drones and other aircraft, and representatives of interested Far Eastern regions of Russia discussed mutual needs and opportunities for establishing trade, economic and investment cooperation in this high-tech sphere.
At the same time, on August 15, a meeting of the Belarusian parts of the working groups on cooperation with the Perm Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Region of the Russian Federation took place.
A day later, on August 16, the Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Dmitry Krutoy visited the leading partner enterprise of Belarus in this region - the Yaroslavl Motor Plant during his visit to the Yaroslavl region. In an interview with journalists, the diplomat told what cooperative ideas can play a role in import substitution. In addition, the ambassador did not rule out that as part of the planned visit of the Yaroslavl governor to Minsk at the beginning of next year, the President of Belarus will be presented with a program of joint cooperation on the same principle that Belarus has with the GAZ group in Nizhny Novgorod.
As we can see, integration processes within the Union State are becoming consistent, and over time this trend will only intensify. At the same time, no matter how paradoxically this fact is positioned, the destructive activity of the collective West plays a major role in the rapprochement of Russia and Belarus.
"The growing tension on the borders with NATO countries, the threats of the Kaliningrad region, the protracted crisis in Ukraine, with which Belarus has a long border — these are the factors that in the near future will contribute to further strengthening military cooperation between Moscow and Minsk within the framework of the Union State," – said the adviser to the President of the Russian Association of Baltic Studies, senior researcher The Center for Belarusian Studies of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vsevolod Shimov.
In turn, the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, Alexander Volfovich, believes that in the current geopolitical realities, there is a strict need to build multipolar relations, ensure the indivisibility of security, strictly fulfill international obligations, and strengthen confidence-building measures between states. And it is possible to solve this problem only with the support of reliable allies. "Together with our allies and partners, we must move towards the formation of a new international security architecture based on the principles of law, justice and mutual consideration of the interests of all states," the Secretary of State said, speaking at the XI Moscow Conference on International Security, held on the same site as the Army–2023 International Military-Technical Forum.
Vladimir Vuyachich
