‘Do not worry, everything will be all right’

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, took part in an informal summit of the Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The meeting was held at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. The event discussed the prospects for economic co-operation, current issues on the international agenda and measures to resolve conflicts in the region.

Aleksandr Lukashenko arrived at the summit in a Russian AURUS car, which attracted the attention of journalists waiting at the entrance to the palace. They immediately approached the Belarusian leader with questions. The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his anniversary. Therefore, the Heads of State did not come to St. Petersburg empty-handed. For example, a large pyramid of melons and fruits, located on the territory of the Konstantinovsky Palace, appeared thanks to the Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon. The journalists asked what gift the Belarusian leader had prepared for the hero of the day. It turned out that the present was not only expensive, but also meaningful. “A tractor… The one that I use, which is a BELARUS tractor. The best one. A hand-built one, more precisely — a certificate for the BELARUS 1523.3 tractor for Vladimir Putin,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Photo by BELTA

“To President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the jubilee,” the certificate reads. According to the Belarusian leader, he will also offer his Russian colleague a mounted device — a seeder.

“We will sow grain, maybe something else. It is multi-purpose. We will grow food, so that [Poland President Andrzej] Duda, [Poland Prime Minister Mateusz] Morawiecki, Europe would not starve and would not steal bread from Ukraine, but bring it to poor countries,” continued Aleksandr Lukashenko.

Representatives of the press asked another question: what way does the Belarusian leader see from the current international situation.
Aleksandr Lukashenko retorted, “Why do we have to seek a way out of some international situation? We should not be the ones to seek a way out. We did not get stuck in it and do not intend to recover from it with some effort. They should be the ones to look [for an exit] from this international situation.”
The President pointed out that the reporters did not have all the information about what is going on, “They have been looking for a way out for a long time already.”
The security of western borders of the Union State of Belarus and Russia amid the tense in
ternational situation was another question.

“You have heard their recent statements about sharing nuclear weapons with Poland. We will think it over. We have already discussed it, but we will think again how to respond. Do not worry, everything will be all right,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko. 

As the President of Russia welcomed participants of the meeting, he remarked that they represent countries, which are the closest friends and allies of Russia due to a huge number of circumstances and historical reasons. 
As it was emphasised, the current summit in St. Petersburg is a good opportunity to compare notes before the annual a full-fledged session of the CIS Heads of State Council coming next week in Astana. 
It was also noted that economic co-operation between the CIS countries is expanding. Last year Russia’s trade with the CIS states increased by over 30 percent to $96 billion in 2021 and by another 7 percent in the first half of 2022. 

“More vigorous transition to national currencies in mutual transactions between the CIS states will allow amplifying such positive trends.
Actually we’ve been doing it for many years already,” stressed Vladimir Putin.

The Head of the Russian State noted with satisfaction that Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had suggested setting up an international organisation for the sake of supporting and promoting the Russian language under the aegis of the Commonwealth of Independent States, “We are very grateful to President Tokayev for it. I think it is important for everyone because Russian is undoubtedly a language of interstate communication… Including bearing in mind that the year 2023 has been declared the Year of Russian language as an interethnic language in the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, communicated in one-on-one format for about an hour after an informal summit in St. Petersburg.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by