Belarusian economy handles the pressure

There is no doubt now that an entire historical period ended with Russia launching its operation in Ukraine. A new ‘watershed line’ between the East and the West is rapidly taking shape due to aggravated confrontation of leading players. This was stated by the President of Belarus at a session of the Security Council, held in an expanded format.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that the economic war against Belarus has been going on for almost two years and it has a very specific goal, “Taking into account the recent events in Ukraine, we are now being attacked on all fronts, including trade, finance and logistics. 
The main goal is to block our export channels and weaken us through import restrictions, so that in the end all this would affect the welfare of our people. The speed of sanctions and their depth show that they had been preparing for it thoroughly and for a long time. It is clear that they would have been imposed regardless of the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations…


Belarus will continue to defend its national interests in the most rigorous way. Any hesitating allies need to understand that without rapid consolidation of our civilisation, without strengthening the political, economic and military ties, we may not be there tomorrow.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also reminded that issues of mutually beneficial co-operation in industry, cargo transportation, fuel, energy and financial sectors were already discussed with the President of Russia. The heads of the two states share the same assessment of the situation around Belarus and Russia, “New windows of opportunity are really opening up for our countries. With Western companies leaving the Union State market, huge niches are becoming available for us to explore.”
 The President of Belarus stressed that everything that is happening today, the conflict in Ukraine, all this sanctions policy is only part of the problem on a global scale, “It is a part of the global confrontation between the USA and China. A new powerful player has come to the front — China. So, meanwhile, they are trying to get rid of Russia and Belarus as well. This is part of the global matters we are all going to see in the near future. It will be very bad if the union between Belarus and Russia does not survive. It will be really very bad.”

The main danger for the Southern neighbour

The President also commented on the actions of global powers, “Many countries, which have followed the great and thoughtlessly joined the sanctions, are now beginning to understand something. Even act. Some Western companies have left Russia and Belarus. Some are coming back. Some did not even leave, just made a statement. In fact, these restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus, imposed by the USA and its allies, are becoming sanctions for the whole world. The established system of trade is being destroyed.”
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko,
sanctions make the states that impose them weaker, and to an even greater extent, they hurt those states. The President cited the example of the EU, which is faced with rising fuel prices, shortages of food and mineral fertilisers. The countries that understand it, China in particular, oppose Western sanctions that destabilise the world market.
At the same time, the President explains, all this did not start because of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, “It began a long time ago. America had to take care of things here in order to reach head-on collision with China. Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus — one thing led to another.”
The President recalled that Belarus traditionally tried to establish a dialogue between the parties to the conflict almost immediately after the start of the active phase of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, “Once again I want to tell those who shout ‘No to war!’. We don’t need this war, because we can end up suffering the most as a result of this conflict, the conflict between the two Slavic peoples. I have been saying this from the very first day of this confrontation between Ukraine and Russia. We once again offered Russia and Ukraine a safe place for negotiations. Our initiative was heard, appreciated and accepted. Belarus hosted three meetings of Russians and Ukrainians where they charted ways towards a peace deal. Istanbul means Western pressure to discourage Ukraine from going to Belarus. They didn’t need a peace-making mission in Belarus. 
Feel free to arrange these talks over there. Results are what matters. Because, let me emphasise it once again, a war means a great harm for Belarus.” 
Aleksandr Lukashenko also stated, “There can be no negotiations without Belarus. Since you, primarily Western countries, got us into it, naturally Belarus’ stance must be presented during these talks. We don’t proceed from the fact that we have been put into the same basket together with Russia. No. We proceed from the belief that this war is just over the fence of our country. And it is most seriously affecting the situation in Belarus. This is why there can be no separate agreements behind Belarus’ back. I am absolutely convinced and know that Russia understands this position. And there is nothing wrong with it. But it will run contrary to Western designs. But it doesn’t mean we should dance the Western tune.”
First of all, this position of the Belarusian side should be heard in Kyiv. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko added, “If even a little bit of reason remains with the leadership of Ukraine, if there is even one drop, they should understand that a period of restoration will begin after the war and it will be necessary to restore the country. If they think that Western countries will come and selflessly rebuild Ukraine just like that, they are sadly mistaken! If they are to build and rebuild some plant in Ukraine, it will not be a plant of the Ukrainian people. It will be a plant owned by the country restoring it. There is a most severe danger that there will be nothing Ukrainian left in Ukraine. 
Even nothing oligarchical. All of it will be dominated by oligarchs from the USA and major European Union countries. This is why you have to find your luck in your own home. As I’ve been saying for a long time, the three Slavonic nations should recognise what is going on in the world on the global scale, sit at a table, and come to terms. Come to terms as equals.”

Special operation in Ukraine

The President spoke about the special operation carried out to return Belarusian citizens from the territory of Ukraine at a session of the Security Council, “Things went too far and these scoundrels started capturing our people, primarily drivers of the vehicles, which happened to be there at the time. They arrested about 1,500 railway cars of ours, captured our automobiles, and I think up to 100 our guys, who were driving these semi-trucks. I warned Ukrainians that we would be forced to stage an operation to free these people. We carried out such a special operation and freed all our people.”
The President did not reveal the details but instructed Chairman of the State Security Committee Ivan Tertel to nominate all the participants of the operation for government awards. 

The economy is operating

The Belarusian economy as a whole is handling the pressure. Companies are working, people have jobs, salaries are paid on time, emphasised Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in his report. In the first two months, the export of goods increased by 21.5 percent (compared to January-February 2021). Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on these figures, 
“In other words, the demand for our products has grown and there are no problems with their sale, because virtually everything that we produce is in demand, first of all, on our main sales market, which is the Russian Federation. We fought for it.” 
Roman Golovchenko also outlined other indicators: the foreign trade surplus amounted to $700 million, the net profit of enterprises more than tripled, the profitability of sales exceeded 9 percent, payment discipline is maintained and the real incomes of households also keep growing.
The Prime Minister reported that under normal conditions, the growth of the Belarusian economy would exceed the planned level, 
“Nonetheless, the collective West has significantly increased pressure in the unleashed sanctions war in recent months. They have additionally introduced financial and trade sanctions that are so notable to us... As a result, the negative impact on our economy has sharply increased. In order to quickly adapt the economy to the new conditions and mitigate this blow, the government switched to a mobilisation mode of operation. The operational team works every day, if necessary, government decisions are taken within 48 hours.”

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
Photos by BELTA