MINSK, February 1. /TASS/. Belarusians want to have a country that only comes up with peaceful initiatives, but they are ready to respond to any provocations, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday.
"History has taught us to always be ready to respond to any provocation. And I would like to reiterate: our responsibility here is not for Belarusians alone, but for Russians, as well," Lukashenko said during his meeting with the State Border Control Committee head Anatoly Lappo.
According to Lukashenko, the level of security at the Belarusian area of responsibility "surpasses any border in the world."
"We understand that the border is the mirror, the face of any state. I can argue with anyone that no other state has such border security as Belarus. We must maintain the state border security at this level," Lukashenko said.
The president pointed out that, last year, the state was forced to pay special attention to security, which some could have perceived as "sabre rattling."
"Nothing of the sort. We have never rattled our sabers and have no intent to do that in the future. We want, just like before, to remain an island of security in Europe, and to be a country that only comes up with peaceful initiatives. This is our perspective," the president underscored.