The inspection of the armed forces has begun in Belarus on the instructions of President Alexander Lukashenko, the defense minsitry reported.

"The State Secretariat of the Security Council of Belarus has been inspecting the armed forces of Belarus since October 11 in accordance with the president's order. It covers the most important issues of readiness checks," the report reads.

Earlier, Lukashenko said that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the deployment of a joint regional grouping of troops.

The day before Minister of Defense of Belarus Viktor Khrenin said that the tasks of the group of Russian and Belarusian troops deployed here are purely defensive in nature.