On February 16th, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko met with State Secretary of the Union State Sergei Glazyev. At the beginning of the conversation, the President recalled his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 8th, noting that the main topic was the upcoming session of the Union State Supreme State Council. According to the Head of State, it was agreed to hold this meeting on February 26th.
“That was the main topic of our phone call,” the Belarusian leader noted. “However, many conspiracy theories have emerged following that conversation.”
This is partly related to the upcoming Board of Peace meeting scheduled to take place soon in Washington, and Aleksandr Lukashenko’s invitation to this Board.
“Still, the main topic we discussed was the session of the supreme body of our Union State, along with our ongoing contacts with the President of Russia and negotiations on issues concerning Belarus and Russia. I am addressing these conspiracy theories during our meeting, especially since I have highlighted the key questions that, as journalists say, continue to circulate on major news platforms. I might not have paid much attention before, but some people, including Russians, have begun to respond to them,” the Head of State stressed.
“In Russia some claim that someone’s trying to break Belarus away from Russia. I won’t even comment on this. I’ll just say one thing: there is no power capable of breaking Belarus away from Russia and Russia from Belarus today. Events have unfolded in a way that brought us together, perhaps, for decades and centuries to come. Although, in fact, there is nothing to reproach us for. Belarus has always been oriented towards Russia. Much of what we have — if not everything — is connected to Russia. Our resources and markets are there, especially economically. We share complete unity in this respect; the same is true in politics. The attempt to build a unified allied space also arises from our centuries-old ties. So, what is there to say about any forces trying to separate Belarus from Russia?” the Head of State pointed out.
In this context, Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned the Belarusian-American talks and underlined, “We manage to solve our problems in these negotiations. However, under no circumstances do we resolve these problems at the expense of our fraternal and native Russia.”
According to the President of Belarus, during the talks with US officials, the issue of our relations with Russia was raised only once, and that was at the very beginning of the negotiations.
“I brought up the topic and immediately asked the Americans not to discuss it... I said exactly that we and Russia have long since made our decision, it was stated, everyone knows about it, and we will act together. So don’t try to drive a wedge between us or somehow separate us. And Americans replied: ‘We weren’t even going to discuss this item at the talks. We totally understand what Russia means to Belarus and Belarus to Russia’. And that was honest... I don’t know what kind of presidents Belarus will have in the future, but I increasingly believe they will be like Lukashenko. They won’t turn away from Russia. If anyone hopes that some so called leaders of the opposition [referring to Tikhanovskaya and Latushko] will come, that’s not the case — our presidents are right here in Belarus. So our relationships with Russia are clear. The main thing is that Russia supports Belarus when needed and, God forbid, doesn’t turn its back on Belarus. As for separating us from Russia... Listen, it’s just the two of us left: Putin and me, Russia and Belarus.”
The Belarusian leader emphasised that when the West, led by the United States, imposed sanctions against Belarus, it was Russia and China who stood by our side, “When the door was closed to Belarus, they ‘didn’t even offer a window as an entry point’. Meanwhile, the Chinese and Russians always kept their doors open. Did we do anything wrong? Did we oppose America in any way? No. This is our position: Russia and China are essential countries for Belarus’ existence. You fully understand this.”
In this context, the Belarusian leader replied to some ‘friendly advice’ and suggestions from certain people in Russia about how Belarus should behave in talks with the Americans, saying, “Listen, I have been President for more than thirty years. Some might calculate I have dealt with five American presidents. I have seen many different situations. It’s impossible to deceive me or sideline me. I have a lot of experience in this area. We could give advice to many Russians, and if you join us, we can guide many others on how to handle this aggressive West, whose main part is the United States of America.”
