Military security has been and will be one of the priorities of the government, President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Defense Minister Yuri Zhadobin to receive his report on 11 November.

"We always evaluate the real situation around Belarus and take necessary measures to strengthen its security," the head of state stressed and noted that the recent territorial defense exercise is a vivid testament to that.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, systematic training of territorial defense troops will help promote national military potential, raise the significance of the Armed Forces that should play a crucial role in ensuring the country's safety.

In response to the statements and commentaries of some ill wishers voiced after the territorial defense exercise and consequent statements made by the head of state, Alexander Lukashenko noted that the territorial defense concept has been worked out in Belarus since 2000. "These decisions had been made long before. Many exercises had been held. At last they are awake and hear that Lukashenko is creating some new territorial defense troops, a new army," the President said. "When I was saying that we are indeed creating the new army, I meant not only territorial defense and troops as a foundation, part of our defense shield that will be used in full in the time of war if, God forbid, it happens. It is not something that we have devised. And it is done in order to spend less money on the regular army. The main idea that stems from the last war, the resistant movement in Belarus, the guerilla war is that we should be prepared or it. We would like to avoid what happened in 1941 when there were people who could fight, but they were surrounded because of the lack of armaments," Alexander Lukashenko noted.

"The resistance and guerilla movements in Belarus are the indispensable part of the resistance of the Belarusian people. And we should prepare the population for it if something happens," the President is convinced.

In his words, this year's events have proved once again that some super powers still heavily rely on the principle of military force in their politics. "This is particularly disturbing in view of the global financial crisis. Thus, our objective is obvious – we have to prevent our military security from sliding. Today we may already speak about the efficiency of measures that have been taken in this area," the President said.

According to him, these measures will help prepare troops and shape a modern image of the Belarusian army.

"The military and technical cooperation between Belarus and Russia aimed at raising the defense potential of the Union State in Eastern Europe is productive," the President said.

Alexander Lukashenko also praised the results of the Belarus-Russia military exercise Union Shield 2011. Once again the exercise proved the durability of relations between the two states. It is noteworthy, that a 5,000-strong Belarusian force demonstrated a high level of training and organization thousands of kilometers away from the home country. The fact testifies that we indeed have a combat-effective army that can be the safeguard of the peaceful labor of the Belarusian people. We can be proud of it," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized.

The President said that the development of the Armed Forces is a continuous process. "This is why we constantly compare our military priorities with the challenges and potential threats to the national security. We define the most advisable ways to further strengthen the defense capability of the country," the head of state said.

"The main conclusion is that our social, political and economic models of development and the national security system have passed the strength test," the President noted.

"Our country has not allowed getting itself entangled in any political ventures and has not allowed large-scale destructive actions. We have outlined priorities of our foreign policy. It must remain multivectoral and must be aimed at securing peace and stability,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

In his words, the military component of the national security system can meet modern challenges. The head of state believes they will have yet to face complicated and responsible tasks. “Requirements for all kinds of military personnel in the modern conditions have never been higher. They are justified by the transition of the Belarusian army to a new level,” the President said.

According to the head of state, next year attention should be paid to the practical training of troops in modern warfare. Military science and education should focus on determining the most rational mechanisms to keep troops combat-effective and on working out promising warfare forms. “In no way we should be lulled by the fact that we have aircrafts, helicopters, tanks and the shield is stronger than ever. You see that today aircrafts and tanks can be useless in modern combat. These days missiles are used for the key tasks,” the head of state told participants of the session. “It is necessary to learn to defend ourselves from enemy missiles. Other forms of combat are required taking into account our conditions, mentality, experience, taking into account what is going on around the globe”, the President said.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that close attention should be paid to proper and systemic ideological work, patriotic education, keeping up morale of the troops. It is very important, he said.

The President stressed that the government has cared and will care about the human resources of the Armed Forces. “In Belarus military service is prioritized over other kinds of civil service and labor. Respectively we will provide a proper level of social protection to the military. However, the military should be more productive, should play a more constructive role in keeping up the social and political stability in the country. Enhancement of the human resources potential of the army in the present complicated situation is question number one,” said the head of state.

“I would also like to emphasize that the Belarusian government considers the Armed Forces to be the key factor of strategic containment of external threats and stability in the state. I believe that the Belarusian army can handle the task,” concluded the President. "