MINSK, January 30. /TASS/. The situation on the state border of Belarus is difficult, so all relevant bodies are being enlisted to help protect the country’s frontiers, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.
"The situation on the border is challenging, we have been talking about it all the time," Belarusian news agency BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying before signing a resolution on protecting the state border for the year 2025.
"Nowadays, border guards, customs officers, especially at checkpoints, have a lot of work to do," he continued. "There are enormous queues on both sides of the border. It is an additional burden on our border guards."
The president of Belarus stressed that it was important not only to protect the state border, but take into account all possible threats.
"This is not an easy task. So, let's discuss the main aspects of state border protection. If we come to a full understanding and agreement with the proposal of the border troops, we will approve the resolution on the protection of the state border," he said.
Lukashenko noted that the entire security apparatus, ranging from the police to the military, are involved in the protection of the Belarusian border in one capacity or another, because it is difficult to defend the more than 3,600 kilometers (some 2,237 miles) state borderline with border troops alone.
"I want to make one thing clear," Lukashenko continued. "The border guards should not just protect the state border, they should also warn us about threats in due time."
"Other agencies are also engaged in this, but it is primarily the task of our border guards to warn us about possible security threats. Then, having mobilized all the forces in the country [from the police to the army, the Defense Ministry], we will be able to confront the enemy," the Belarusian president added.