MINSK. Sept 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The bill "Concerning Liability to Carry Arms", which has just been submitted to the Belarussian Council of Ministers, envisages reduction of active duty service term, a spokesman for the Belarussian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the bill, active duty service for the people who have no higher education and serve in border guard or Interior Ministry troops will last 18 months, while servicemen of other troops without higher education will serve for 12 months, the spokesman told Interfax-Military News Agency. The service term for people with higher education will be reduced to nine months. Moreover, those who completed the junior commanders training programme at military departments of their higher educational establishments and passed corresponding exams, will serve for six months.
The spokesman said "the bill is likely to be passed, because it is adapted to the current geopolitical situation and to the new concept of the republic's national security."