MINSK, 7 October (BelTA) – Belarus' military policy relies on the following principle: Negotiations are better than saber-rattling, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said at a briefing in the Central Officers' House in Minsk on 6 October, BelTA has learned.
"An additional factor that has a negative impact on the national security of Belarus is the build-up by the West of the information campaign against our state in all vital spheres, especially ideological, social, cultural and information ones. We should expect an increase in a large-scale multi-vector impact on the minds and worldview of people with an aim in order to undermine the state ideology, destroy the existing vertical of power and form a negative perception of Russia and Belarus, including by discrediting the military-political leadership, the Armed Forces and other law enforcement agencies," Viktor Khrenin said.
To achieve these goals the West has engaged all the capabilities of relevant organizations and structures, including government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and social media. In the context of negative trends around Belarus, attempts by the West to unleash a civil war in Belarus by the hands of the self-exiled opposition also have a significant impact on the security of our state, including in the military sphere. "To date, the self-exiled opposition seeks to further activate the Peramoga plan which sugegsts violent seizure of power in Belarus. Key areas of activity: to achieve recognition and full support of the government-in-exile by the West, to prepare a combat component, the so-called volunteer units, in the battles in Ukraine. Significant importance is attached to the formation of a combat reserve within Belarus. The curators of these processes are Western special services," the defense minister said.
"That said we can conclude that the negative trends will prevail in terms of in the development of the situation around Belarus," Viktor Khrenin is sure. "There will remain the possibility that Western decision-making centers, primarily the United States and NATO, will use force to achieve their goals. The level of military threat to Belarus will be increasing in proportion to the growth of Western pressure on Russia in order to defeat it and erase it from the political map of the world. It is impossible to exclude the emergence of a real threat of inciting an internal conflict in Belarus with further external interference by the West, from the territory of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Ukraine."
In such conditions, the defense minister noted that the most important task of the country's military-political leadership is to continue a productive military policy to counter modern military threats. In the current situation, emphasis is placed on an entire set of strategic deterrence measures, both of a non-force and force nature.
"Already today, troops and forces are performing combat duty tasks in an enhanced mode. We continuously conduct intelligence in all its forms, exchange intelligence information with our allies, and guard and protect the state border of our country. We have envisaged measures to curb military provocations on the border. We are ready to respond to possible provocations in all directions of the border. The necessary decisions have also been taken to ensure collective security. The regional group of troops and forces of Belarus and Russia is ready to deploy and perform tasks in terms of armed defense of the Union State. Military authorities at all levels are systematically conducting a comprehensive analysis of the evolving situation on our borders. Options for an adequate response are also being developed," Viktor Khrenin said.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry believes that the strategic deterrence measures that are currently being implemented and planned by the Armed Forces demonstrate the readiness to protect the country and cause unacceptable damage to the aggressor: "But still, the basis of our military policy remains the following principle: negotiations are better than saber-rattling. As the head of our state has repeatedly emphasized, Minsk is open to this kind of interaction."
