MINSK (Reuters) - President Alexander Lukashenko, isolated by the West for his lack of political and economic reforms, said on Friday Belarus must be prepared to defend itself against U.S. attack.
Lukashenko, once called Europe's last dictator by U.S. officials,has criticized Washington's military campaign against Iraq, saying it had created a precedent whereby undesirable leaders could be unseated with military force.
"Belarus has to be vigilant and pay particular attention to strengthening its fighting efficiency. The world has returned to times when war and brute force were real instruments of foreign policy,"
Official news agency BelTA quoted him as saying.
"The United States declared its particular right to use military force toward countries that dare to implement independent foreign and internal policies," he said.
Washington and the European Union, which will share a border with Belarus when it absorbs Poland, Latvia and Lithuania next year, have criticized Lukashenko for breaching human rights, cracking down on the opposition, suppressing demonstrations and having a poor record on press
freedom.
Belarus, an impoverished former Soviet country of 10 million, had achieved considerable progress in reforming its armed forces, Lukashenko said, pledging to increase state financing for the military next year.
"We are not going to do any saber-rattling. We are not going to threaten anybody. We are talking only about defending our motherland," he said.
Belarus Says to Prepare Against U.S. Attack Reuters
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