(ANSA-AFP) - MINSK, FEB 11 - Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday his country had fought off a foreign "blitzkrieg", in a defiant address to loyalists following months of protests against his decades-long rule. The authoritarian leader had promised to unveil reforms at the people's assembly in the capital Minsk, but his opening address to a packed auditorium of delegates in military and official uniforms instead focused on attempts to overthrow his government. "The blitzkrieg did not succeed. We held on to our country," Lukashenko said, using language especially resonant in a country that suffered huge losses at the hands of German forces in World War II. "Despite the tensions in society artificially created by external forces, we survived," Lukashenko said. "We have to resist at all costs. And 2021, this year, will be decisive." (ANSA-AFP).