MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) – Instead of active military service young agrarians may be offered inactive duty. The relevant proposal was put forward by Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Anatoly Khotko during the government conference hosted by the head of state on 28 January to discuss top-priority measures to ensure steady operation of agribusiness in Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA has learned.
The agriculture and food minister suggested offering primarily inactive military service to young specialists working in the sphere of agriculture. The head of state backed the idea. “We will lose more if we draft them for active military service. They may be called to attend two-month training sessions for two years or five or ten years, but we should train them at least to be able to serve as part of territorial defense,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said he looks forward to proposals of the Defense Ministry and the State Secretariat of the Security Council on how these things should be arranged. This kind of support for young specialists will be a certain privilege. “But everyone should pass through this school of hard knocks,” he stressed. “That's settled then. We will look into the option. We should come up with an optimal variant.”
