MINSK. Feb 20 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Security Council chaired by President Alexander Lukashenko is discussing an updated national security concept.
Lukashenko said at a meeting that the document adopted in 2010 remained relevant and the national security system based on its provisions had proven effective, including at a time of hard external pressure on Belarus.
"The so-called mechanism of political terrorism tested in many countries failed here. We are giving a rather adequate response to the new challenges - provocations, sanctions, political ultimatums and so on. Still, all these trials are experience in the first turn. Experience is a valuable material for the elaboration of a strategy of further development," Lukashenko said.
Cold War elements, such as the arms race and nuclear blackmail by the leaders of certain Western countries, are back to the global agenda, he said.
"The threats of aggressive nationalism and extremism are obviously growing in various forms. The neo-fascism ideology is livening up. The risk of drug and human trafficking and illegal immigration, which are used as means to achieve political goals, is not lessening either. The trend towards global cultural unification, including that based on non-traditional phenomena, jeopardizes the pillar of a national state - our moral principles, traditional values and historical memory," Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko added that the All-Belarusian People's Assembly should approve the national security concept, a key document in the life of Belarus. "The draft document should be ready by the first convocation of its delegates in the new constitutional status. I mean we will submit this document for discussion and approval at the first meeting of the BPA. It will take effect if supported by delegates of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly," he said.
The Assembly is due to meet in April 2024.