MINSK, July 3. /TASS/. European countries have embarked on the path of militarism and are being drawn in to the arms race, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday.

"There is an increase in global instability, international security has been destroyed," he said at the parade to mark the country’s Independence Day. "European countries have embarked on the path of militarization and are being drawn into the arms race and military preparations." According to the president, the US is deploying its missile defense system near the western borders of Belarus and improving its nuclear capabilities.

"Our answer is the modern Belarusian army," Lukashenko said, adding that it is modernized all the time, is mobile well trained and armed. 

"It is important to note that the domestic military-industrial complex makes a significant contribution to boosting Belarus’ combat readiness. The country is successfully developing its own missile industry. One could name more than one hundred samples of Belarusian military products, which are fundamentally new," Lukashenko said. He noted that Belarus has everything it needs to rebuff any aggressor.

According to Lukashenko, Belarus has established itself as an independent country, which pursues independent multi-vector foreign policy and is committed to "resolving any international conflicts at the negotiating table solely."

"We have nothing to hide," the Belarusian leader said. "Along with fraternal Russia, we are defending the borders of the Union State that we are creating." Lukashenko added that Minsk’s strategic objective was developing relations with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member-countries. "These are our reliable partners and loyal friends. We share a common history, and today we protect the world from new threats together," Lukashenko said.