Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called for a relentless war on corruption, saying that this protects the state from "direct disintegration and internal conflicts."

"Because people will not tolerate corruption. It will definitely lead to some shocks. Maybe not cardinal and revolutionary, but it will be difficult for the authorities to work if the country is corrupt," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by his press service at a meeting with Valery Vakulchik, the chairman of the Belarusian State Security Committee, on Thursday.

"Corruption is rust. No matter what we do in society, no matter what our laws and state system are, no matter how advanced our economy is - our country will not have any progress or development if corruption is rampant, like it is in some states that we know, and if it is not fought," Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko thanked the State Security Committee for its good work in preventing corruption and said that "no one has done more on this than the State Security Committee, especially with regard to significant criminal instances of corruption."