Minsk, Dec 13 (IANS): Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko approved the country's defence plan for 2026-2030.

The military-political situation around Belarus has changed in recent years, Lukashenko said at the Security Council meeting on Thursday. Individual states continue to escalate the situation around Belarus, he added.

Lukashenko said that destructive rhetoric from European countries toward Belarus is growing, indicating ongoing attempts to destabilise the domestic political situation in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.

The president stressed the Belarusian army does not threaten anyone and is an instrument for preventing war, and in the event of aggression, the army must be able to repel it.

Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said the approved defence plan was developed on the basis of a deep analysis of the events of 2020 in Belarus and the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus Pavel Muraveiko said one of the main directions of the plan for the next five years is reducing the level of military danger and preventing military conflicts.

"Also among the main directions of the plan is the preparation of the state for defence which covers all areas from the economy to the military sphere. These are options for armed defence of the country in various modern conflicts. The issues of preparing the economy of the state and the state as a whole for functioning in conditions of military action are also included in the plan," Muraveiko said.