/ / News
29.06.2015

Concern over foreign intelligence operations, crime rate increase on Belarus' southern borders

MINSK (BelTA) – The situation in Belarus is stable and there are no threats that cause concern or require an immediate response. Chairman of the State Security Committee of Belarus Valery Vakulchik informed Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko about it on 29 June, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that he had invited the KGB chief for a report “not only because the political situation is complicated or because we are on the eve of a presidential election campaign”. “All of it is important. And then the activity of our non-friends on western borders has increased too much. I would like you to inform me briefly about the situation in Belarus, the way you see it on the basis of your special data and sources, and about the threats that you see and that we should pay serious attention to not only today, tomorrow but also in a more distant future,” said the head of state.

The Belarus President was informed about national security matters, the situation inside the country and at its borders.

Valery Vakulchik noted that on the whole the situation in the country is stable and there are no threats that represent a reason for concern or require an immediate response. At the same time the presence of NATO armed forces on the western borders keeps growing while the crime rate on the southern borders is rising. The KGB chief remarked that it is primarily manifested as an increase in the availability of firearms in Ukraine. The firearms are fed from the military operation zone in Ukraine's east. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are unable to fully control the situation. The state of affairs leads to criminalization of a significant part of the population. According to Valery Vakulchik, the facts cause concerns among Belarusian law enforcement agencies and the State Security Committee because all these weapons can be used for criminal purposes and for committing acts of terrorism.

At the same time the KGB chief underlined that the State Border Committee and the Belarusian Interior Ministry take adequate measures to reinforce the southern borders and the measures produce results.

Valery Vakulchik remarked that an increase in the activity of foreign intelligence services with regard to Belarus in the last 12 months causes concern as well.

The President was told that the State Security Committee, the Interior Ministry, and other government agencies stay on top of the situation. “All these events do not go unnoticed,” said Valery Vakulchik. “We take the relevant measures to suppress illegal activities and forestall them. This is why our citizens have no grounds to fear for their safety. On the whole, these events will not affect stability in our country in the near future.”

The head of state gave instructions to keep up vigilance for the sake of preventing any threats that may emerge taking into account the current foreign policy situation.