Lukashenko: Belarus, Russia were predicted to die, but we are working successfully, with no fear
Belarus and Russia were predicted to die, but the countries are working successfully, having no fear – as stated by the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, during his meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi, BelTA reports
Vladimir Putin said that the leaders of Belarus and Russia had agreed on a bilateral meeting at the SCO summit in Samarkand. The heads of state initially planned to discuss the bilateral agenda during the summit, but then decided to meet later.
“I am very glad that you have found time to come and discuss all the issues. There are many of them, and they concern the situation in the region. No less important are the issues of an economic aspect in a number of areas that we discussed earlier. They are related to our plans in the field of chemistry, food, and fertilisers," the President of Russia noted.
As stated by Vladimir Putin, the West is still blocking the supply of Belarusian fertilisers to world markets. “It is very strange, because the world markets – especially in developing countries – are sorely in need of these products," he stressed, adding, “We have specific plans for a number of areas and some major projects. In general, the government has prepared these projects for implementation, and we will discuss all this.”
Photo by press service of Russian President
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the negotiations are accompanied by good weather: it is the velvet season in Sochi now. “But we have other thing to be busy with actually. We talk a lot about our prospects, how we will live further. I have analysed all the instructions that you gave to the government, and that I voiced in Belarus. We have almost no breakdown. The development of our economy and the existence of our states in general have changed dramatically even in the last three months. We were predicted to collapse, to die, and so on. But life is diverse: someone needs us, and we need someone. We have found the partners who work successfully with us, with whom we work and promote our economy," the President said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko believes the citizens who support their countries during this period deserve a special gratitude. “It is actually a difficult period. The world has turned upside down. People understand this. There are different people: there are enough of them here and there. We see them – thanks God, maybe. Here there is a certain watershed and criterion (Belarus witnessed it in 2020, and Russia is experiencing now), which shows who is who. There is nothing wrong with that," he said.
"We have changed significantly over these three months. We have seen that we can live and exist normally. You have very correctly repeated these points of our agreements. Our import substitution is working fine, and we will service our own planes – both military and civilian (we already use the military aircraft). We will also drive our own cars. There is no fear," the Belarusian leader concluded.
