Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko: Belarus and its people have never been so strongly protected

BORISOV DISTRICT, 19 January (BelTA) – Belarus and its people have never been as protected as they are now. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement while talking to workers of the car factory SZAO BelGee, BelTA has learned.

The president made the statement in response to a question about Belarus’ security in the wake of the recently presented drafts of the updated National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine. Are the measures stipulated by these documents sufficient for preserving peace and calm in the country?

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Peace costs a lot. You have to pay for it. But you don’t have to worry. Our nation and the state have never been as protected as they are now. How things will turn out if, god forbid, a war breaks out will depend only on us. The system is in place. We have the army and a mobilization reserve. We have territorial defense and people’s militia. Everything has been built. Weapons and ammunition have been stockpiled and handed out. Everything is sufficient at this stage.”

Speaking about the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine, the president stressed that the world is changing, this is why it is necessary to put the national legislation into order. “Give me an economy and I will ensure peace,” the Belarusian leader recalled his unfailing narrative and demands both for the government and workers at enterprises.

While talking about ways to address security problems, the head of state mentioned cooperation with Russia. “As soon as nuclear weapons were deployed in Belarus, everyone reined in their ambitions. Including neighbors, our crazies, and other ones. Although, god forbid, I and a new generation of politicians should not think about using these nuclear weapons. These are terrible weapons,” he said.

Belarus has previously received Iskander missile systems from Russia, develops its own defense industry, and has preserved the scientific schools and manufacturing competences inherited from the USSR. All of them represent an additional deterrence factor. “We didn’t live a rich life. People didn’t have it easy. But I knew that we had to preserve that. Because those meant future jobs, promising ones. Outer space. A nuclear power plant. We had not explored these possibilities before. In other words, the level of education of our people is extremely high,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked.

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