OREANDA-NEWS The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said that Minsk has no plans to participate in the alleged invasion of the Russian army on the territory of Ukraine.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei called such hypotheses of the State Department "ridiculous" and "fictions".

The minister also stressed that Belarus is conducting joint military exercises with Russia "Allied Resolve-2022" due to the growing tension on the borders of the republic. So Makei explained the reason for the start of the exercises to the representative of the US State Department Karen Donfrid.

"In connection with the interest of the American side, it is also emphasized that planned military exercises on the territory of our country, around which real hysteria is unfolding in the West, are being held precisely in connection with the obvious escalation of tension at our borders," the ministry explained.

The Russian-Belarusian exercises are taking place in Belarus in early February 2022, their main stage will begin on February 10. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in the republic to inspect the progress of the event. For the first time, the exercises were announced in the fall of 2021.

Ukraine is also concerned about the upcoming joint actions on the western and southern borders of Belarus. Kiev decided to conduct its own maneuvers and sent the National guardsmen to practice the tactics of combat operations in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.