MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The security of the Union State of Russia and Belarus is in reliable hands and will be ensured, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference headlined "Results of the Year."

"The security of the Union State is in the reliable hands of our military and will undoubtedly be ensured," the Russian leader stressed.

"As for security issues, we address them both bilaterally and within the Collective Security Treaty Organization. You just mentioned the Oreshnik. Yesterday, [Belarusian President] Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] spoke about the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. We conduct regular exercises, and a group of troops has been established. Our defense ministries cooperate very closely with each other," the Russian president added.