MINSK, 2 December (BelTA) – Reports claiming that Belarusian army officers have been asked to state their opinion about a possible Belarus-Russia merger are pure fiction. Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov made the statement in response to the relevant question, BelTA learned from representatives of the Defense Ministry.
The Belarusian Defense Minister's answer is available on the Ministry's website. Andrei Ravkov underlined that such opinion polls would run contrary to national interests of Belarus and have never been conducted in the Belarusian army. The Republic of Belarus is a sovereign independent state with its own national interests. Securing its independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and immovability of the constitutional system represent the key strategic national interest. The Belarusian army is an organic and inalienable part of the nation. The army officers are dedicated and sworn to defend the country in any conditions.
“It is one of the reasons why the Belarusian army enjoys high trust of the nation while the officer corps is reliable and capable of protecting the country by force of arms,” the Belarusian Defense Minister's response reads.
The Defense Minister also spoke about ideological work such as the patriotic education of military personnel, including officers. Andrei Ravkov noted that ideological work helps maintain the high moral spirit of the military personnel. “The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the army of the Belarusian nation. Nobody should doubt that under the leadership of the Belarus president, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, key values of the Belarusian nation — sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of the country, the immovability of the constitutional system will continue to stay protected in Belarus, thus ensuring peace, stability, and security,” the answer reads.
