BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

21/02/2008

Belarusian Armed Forces meant to prevent war - defense minister

MINSK. Feb 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The Belarusian Armed Forces are an instrument of the prevention of war rather than an instrument of war, Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev told a Thursday press conference in Minsk.

The minister called claims of Belarus' alleged militarization unfounded.

"Some 1.33% of GDP (Br1.3 trillion) was assigned for the development of the Armed Forces. The NATO standard is 2% of GDP, and it is even 3.5% in certain countries. What militarization? There isn't any," he said.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/367467/news.aspx

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