‘Independence must be preserved. Preferably without war’

These words of the President of Belarus were addressed not only to the delegates of the 7th Belarusian People’s Congress (BPC) but also to all residents of the country

The agenda of the second day of the BPC meeting included the approval of the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine. These are fundamental documents regulating the government’s approaches to ensuring national security in various spheres, taking into account geopolitical changes in the world and the use of military force in response to the existing challenges and threats.

BELTA

The President of Belarus, BPC Chairman Aleksandr Lukashenko described in detail the military and political situation unfolding in the Eastern European region:
 • The major real risk is obviously created by Ukraine, which is a hotspot in the region. Washington is making every effort to drag Belarus into the conflict, and to launch a mechanism to involve other countries into it, aiming to weaken the Western and Eastern European regions. 
• The allocation of $60 billion by the United States of America for the war is the most important factor in the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. The allocation of ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) long-range surface-to-surface missiles poses a particular danger. There are drone strikes at the Russian territory targeting oil refineries and airfields, some influential people are put on a clock, as bandits say. All these actions on the part of Ukrainians indicate that the war is escalating.
• I am aware of the moods of Ukrainian military men — they are tired of this war, they have had enough. However, they cannot take independent action, because behind President Zelenskyy, who wants to fight ‘to the last Ukrainian’, there are NATO troops, the entire Western European bloc and the United States of America. The situation is very serious. I think, if the parties do not negotiate now, Ukraine will lose its statehood over time and may cease to exist. 
• No one wants to fight today. Therefore it is necessary to move towards peace. The United States has succeeded in demonising Moscow and Minsk as enemies. Washington is steadily pushing aggressive narratives against the Belarusian and Russian states, turning up the degree of NATO’s hostility towards our countries. With the enlargement of the alliance into Finland and Sweden, Washington and Brussels continue to form a belt of unfriendly states around the Russian Federation. Other European countries are in line to join NATO. We know their goal. According to their plan, everything should be set on fire along this line.
• The people keep asking what the West and the USA want. I reiterate: they want to drown Russia in a war, tear it away from the emerging alliance with China. This union does not exist yet, but it is emerging. The circumstances have developed so that Russia and China need to be together. The US has understood this and it wants to drive a wedge. 
• The US wants to kill several birds with one stone — to weaken Russia and overload Europe, weakening it as well. Afterwards, Americans will move on to deal one-on-one with China in the Pacific Ocean, involving, first of all, India (England is already there), Australia, Ukraine and South Korea in this confrontation.
• We do not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons. We are not attacking anyone, either. Yet, the West and the US know very well that if they just dare to set foot on the territory of Belarus, they will receive an instant response with all kinds of weapons from us as well as from the Russian Federation. You have recently heard President Putin’s statement that an attack on Belarus will be regarded as an attack on the Russian Federation. Therefore, today we are fully determined to resist any aggressor and inflict unacceptable damage on it.  
• Tactical nuclear weapons deployed on the territory of NATO member states are being upgraded at an accelerated pace. More than 200 munitions, including missiles and bombs, are stationed at European air bases, that is at Kleine Brogel Air Base (Belgium) — 20 munitions, at Büchel Air Base (Germany) — 20, at Aviano Air Base (Italy) — 60, at Ghedi Air Base (Italy) — 30, at Incirlik Air Base (Türkiye) — 50, and at Volkel Air Base (Netherlands) — 20. We have counted every single one of them. 
• Last year, the airborne nuclear bombs kept at the Volkel air base in the Netherlands were replaced with modern, more powerful ammunition. Now they are planning to upgrade tactical nuclear weapons in other countries, as well. In the future, tactical nuclear weapons may be deployed on the UK territory.
• In the second half of the year, the White House plans to deploy dual-capable F-35 fighter jets certified as nuclear weapon carriers at the advanced Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Lakenheath. If they do not want escalation and are against the use of nuclear weapons, why are they doing this?
 • The objectives of the events and the nature of the tasks underway, which are scheduled until the end of May, indicate that the West considers our region as a potential theatre of military operations. They have labelled Russia and Belarus as the enemy.
• We see how airfields, naval bases, training grounds are being upgraded at a rapid pace on the other side of Belarus’ western border. Moreover, advanced bases are being created for the early deployment and storage of equipment, weapons and materiel.
• It is planned to supply the Polish Armed Forces with: 
-  366 Abrams tanks, 38 launchers for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) with a total of 506 launchers to be delivered to the troops, 16 launchers for Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, 96 Apache attack helicopters from the USA, about 1,000 K2 Black Panther tanks, 364 K9 self-propelled howitzers, 218 MLRS K239 from South Korea — for the ground forces;   
-  32 F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter jets from the USA, 48 FA-50 combat aircraft from South Korea — for the air forces.
To date, as part of the implementation of relevant contracts, 69 Abrams tanks (in the M1A1 version) have been transferred to the Polish Armed Forces, as well as 8 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, 18 launchers for MLRS HIMARS from the USA, 31 K2 Black Panther tanks, 66 K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers, 3 launchers with 15 turntables for MLRS K239 Chunmoo, 12 FA-50 light combat aircraft from South Korea.    
• We do not want to fight anyone, and I am sure we will not have to. Our opponents understand that we can seriously respond. That would mean the simultaneous death of millions of people. That would mean a new war. If anything happens, we will all become a Brest Fortress [an iconic example of courage and fortitude of the Soviet people in the struggle for freedom during the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War] to defend our land. We have gained independence, so it must be preserved, by all possible means. Preferably without a war.

BELTA

More than 10 years have passed since the adoption of the previous National Security Concept. The State Secretary of the Security Council, Aleksandr Volfovich, revealed what fundamentally new approaches are contained in this important document,
“All novelties can be combined into five large blocks. The first block is about the improvement of the basic conceptual framework, and the elimination of existing gaps. The second block envisages three aspects of the current assessment of the situation. These are methodological inputs that provide an understanding of the conditions under which we will have to ensure national security. This block also more clearly reflects the country’s foreign policy priorities, in particular within the framework of the upcoming Shanghai Co-operation Organisation membership. The third block has been supplemented with the provisions on the national interests of Belarus, threats and directions for their neutralisation. New national interests have been identified, including issues of national identity, social harmony, the inviolability of the foundations of people power and the rule-of-law state, ensuring the security and armed protection of the country. The fourth block focuses on the biosafety concept that has formed a separate sphere taking into account all global shifts caused by current biological threats. The fifth block sets forth a revised system of indicators used to assess the state of national security.”
According to Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin, one of the main reasons for the revision of the Military Doctrine was the adoption of a new version of the Constitution in 2022.
“The revision of the document was also due to the development of the national theory of military art. We have closed the gaps on the use of military force in peacetime, clarified the system of operations in the Armed Forces. We have made a number of landmark decisions on military construction, equipping the structural components of the national military establishment and the advancement of the defence economy sector. Especially considering the severe sanctions pressure from our opponents,” Viktor Khrenin shared the details. “The updated Military Doctrine has explicitly pinpointed the sources of threats to Belarus, as well as has provided a probability estimation of military conflicts of various types. The new version of the Military Doctrine also specifies the issues of fulfilling Belarus’ allied obligations and participating in activities aimed to maintain international peace and security.”

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by