Belarus equates attack on CSTO to assault on its own territory

Belarus has moved to classify any act of armed aggression against the Union State or member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) as an attack on Belarus itself.

The provision is included in the draft law “On Amendments to Laws on Ensuring Military Security and Defence,” adopted in its second reading, Caliber.Az reports, citing BELTA.

The bill introduces revisions to three existing laws — “On the Armed Forces,” “On Defence,” and “On Martial Law.”

“The draft law, in particular, aligns the terminology of these laws with the provisions of the Military Doctrine,” said Gennady Lepeshko, Chairman of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives on National Security.

It also brings the list of military threats — grounds for imposing martial law in the country — into conformity with the Military Doctrine.

Lepeshko added that any act of armed aggression by a state or coalition of states against the Union State or a CSTO member will be considered an attack on the Republic of Belarus.

Belarus is revising its defence-related legislation to mirror the doctrine of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and its bilateral arrangements within the Union State of Russia and Belarus, reinforcing the principle that attacks on these entities are tantamount to aggression against Belarus. 

In particular, the draft law “On Amendments to Laws on Ensuring Military Security and Defence” proposes amendments to the laws “On the Armed Forces,” “On Defence,” and “On Martial Law,” broadening the legal grounds for declaring martial law to include aggression against other CSTO member states or the Union State. 

The revised doctrine emphasises Belarus’s integrated defence posture with Russia and reflects Moscow’s long-standing stance that aggression against the Union State is aggression against Russia.

By Jeyhun Aghazada