Speaking in Berlin before a meeting of European Union defense ministers, Stoltenberg also called for free and fair elections in the country after an Aug. 9 election that opponents of President Alexander Lukashenko say was rigged.
"There is no military NATO buildup in the region, so any attempt by the regime in Belarus to use NATO as an excuse or a pretext to crack down on demonstrators in their own country is absolutely wrong and absolutely unjustified," he told reporters.
