Plans for the development of the country's armed forces and the Zapad 2021 strategic exercise jointly with Russia. These matters was discussed at a meeting between the President and Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin. As Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized, the exercise in which Belarus is involved are of a purely defensive nature. And today it is more relevant than ever, because the NATO military contingent is constantly increasing in Poland and the Baltic countries. Zapad 2021 exercise will be held from 10 to 16 September in Belarus and Russia.