Army and security

"At all times the prosperity of any state has relied on efforts to maintain national security."

"The biggest values are safety of people, defense capacity of the country and peace! The rest can be found and purchased. This is of secondary importance."

"We have always paid much attention to security and defense capacity of our country, the equipment status of our Armed Forces. The reality and the international situation prove that we are on the right track."

"The world has not become a safer place as it ushered in the third millennium. Violence continues to play a significant, or even a leading role in international politics. Every day we hear news about thousands of people who fell victim to armed conflicts and terrorist attacks across various parts of the world. Some have not learned the lessons of the past and keep dreaming of world domination."

"It is time to realize two simple things. First of all, terrorism cannot be eliminated purely by weapons. Second, the fight against this evil needs concerted efforts of the entire international community. Belarus has been doing and will do everything it can to combat this plague of the 21st century. However, we will not let anyone get us dragged into geopolitical games in disguise of fight against terrorism. We should think of our own country, our people, because every decision of politicians has consequences for people. After all, one human life is more valuable than millions of tonnes of oil."

"The Belarusian army has never threatened anyone, does not threaten and is not going to threaten. The army is a tool to prevent wars. If an aggression happens, the army should be capable not only of repulsing the aggression but also of delivering unacceptable damage to the enemy. The main purpose of the Armed Forces is to defend sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the country."

"Belarus is not going to be drawn into an arms race, and engage in saber rattling. However, due to the current military and political situation, we cannot afford different proportions of public expenditure financing. We will spend as much as needed on our security. We should feed our own army."

"In this century the difference between war and peace is getting blurred. Wars are no longer declared and once they start, they no longer follow a conventional scenario. The experience of contemporary military conflicts has revealed that over the span of just several months a rather trouble-free country can turn into an arena of hostilities and fall victim to foreign intervention, plunge into chaos, humanitarian catastrophe and civil war."

"We have always said and I have been through that in full measure and have the right to say it: everyone must defend the motherland, the native country. Everyone, particularly men. We are now so brazen that we have started shifting the problem onto women, too. This must not happen in Belarus! The woman should be responsible for her own things while we should provide for the family and protect the motherland, our family, and our woman."

"Having established our own social and economic model, we have boosted our economic security – Belarus produces enough food to meet domestic needs and even sells foodstuffs abroad. Our industrial products are gaining a foothold on foreign markets despite a tough competition. The country lives in dignity, it earns its living by its hard work and innovation."

"Population growth and a higher performance potential are matters of national security, and they are as crucial for us as for developed countries."

"We have never made compromises in matters of sovereignty and security in our foreign and domestic policy. And we never will."

"Information wars have become the defining feature of the 21st century. Mass media have been turned into a weapon. In fact, this weapon is more powerful than the nuclear one, because a piece of news can sweep the whole world. It is far from certain that the destructive power of nuclear weapons is greater."