Counter-terror operation regime introduced in Belarus - FM

MOSCOW. Oct 14 (Interfax) - A counter-terrorism operation regime has been introduced in Belarus, where the Armed Forces and special services stand ready to fend off any provocations by neighboring states, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said.

"The head of our country [President Alexander Lukashenko] held a series of meetings with security services, and a counter-terrorism operation regime was introduced. Indeed, information was received that some neighboring states are planning provocations all the way to the seizure of certain parts of Belarusian territory," Makei said in an interview published in the Russian Izvestia newspaper on Friday.

"Unfortunately, the world has become so unpredictable today that we cannot trust anyone," he said.

"Therefore, we must take care of our own security, working on the assumption, as the president of Belarus has said, that we must protect our people and ensure that occupying forces do not step even on one meter of our land," Makei said, stressing that "in the current situation, not a single signal of this sort must be left without an appropriate reaction."

"Both the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, its law enforcement agencies and special services stand ready to rebuff any provocations that could stem from neighboring states," the minister said.

As reported, Lukashenko said at a meeting with representatives of security services on October 4 that Poland and Lithuania are building up their military forces near the Belarusian border. The Belarusian Defense Ministry's press service said a week later that the State Secretariat of the country's Security Council started an inspection of the Belarusian Armed Forces on the president's orders. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said that recent measures undertaken in Belarus to increase its security demonstrate the country's preparedness to inflict "unacceptable damage on an aggressor."