TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Belarusian parliament voted Wednesday to suspend the country’s participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, once a key security doctrine for the continent, a 1990 agreement that was abandoned in the year passed through Russia.
The bill, presented by Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko earlier this month could pave the way for Belarus – Russia’s ally in the war in Ukraine – to expand its armed forces. Belarusian lawmakers unanimously approved the bill calling for the suspension of the treaty; Lukashenko now needs to sign the bill for it to become law.
The treaty, signed in 1990, imposes limits on tanks, combat vehicles, warplanes and heavy artillery that can be used in Europe. The objective was to maintain a military balance between the West and countries that were part of the Cold War-era Warsaw Pact.
However, Russia Withdrew completely from the treaty in November 2023 and the NATO countries that were parties to it responded suspending his participation a few hours later.
Belarus hosts Russian tactical nuclear weapons, along with missiles and troops. The country has been used by Russia as a staging point for sending troops to Ukraine, but Belarusian forces have not participated in the war, which is now in its third year.
According to the Belarusian Ministry of Defense, the treaty states that the Belarusian armed forces do not exceed 100,000 soldiers and personnel. There are currently 63 thousand soldiers and personnel in the Belarusian army and around 300 thousand men are in reserve.
Military experts say that after suspending its participation in the treaty, Belarus – which borders Ukraine and NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – will be able to expand its army and accumulate more weapons, although this will not means it will definitely happen.
Alexander Alesin, a military analyst based in the Belarusian capital Minsk, told the Associated Press that the country’s withdrawal from the treaty had to do with Russia’s discontent with the fact that Belarus was still officially in the agreement.
“Russia was very unhappy,” Alesin said. The withdrawal “unties Belarus’s hands, but this does not automatically mean that the number of conventional weapons in the country will increase”.
“Russia has deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which is much more frightening for neighboring NATO countries,” he added.
