Posted: 31.03.2023 15:07:00

Lukashenko: national unity is paramount condition for preserving sovereignty and independence

Only citizens of Belarus have the right to talk about their national interests and define national ideas for further development – as stated by Aleksandr Lukashenko in his Address to the Belarusian People and the National Assembly

Photo: www.president.gov.by

“In our history – I am telling you this as a historian – there were many critical situations, but we were wise to preserve ourselves and our place on the political map of the world, to defend our sovereignty,” the Belarusian leader said.

The Head of State recalled how, during his last Address to the Belarusian People and the National Assembly, he asked whether Belarusians were ready to pay for sovereignty. “Sovereignty means that only we, the citizens of Belarus, have the right to talk about our national interests and determine national ideas for further development on the territory of our own state. Therefore, I would like to talk today – as I have already said – about the main conditions that will ensure the real sovereignty of our state, to talk about what else we should do together so that no one enters our door, except for friends only and those coming with peace," the President stressed.

The Belarusian leader named the first condition for sovereignty and independence: national unity. “We, Belarusians, have always demonstrated it at turning points in history. It was unity that gave us the strength to defeat enemies and circumstances. That was the case during the years of revolutionary hardships, when the Belarusian people did not miss the chance to create the foundations of national statehood. That was the case in 1939, when our historical lands were reunited – which would have been impossible without the desire of Belarusians to live in one family. That was the case during the Great Patriotic War, when the occupiers faced truly nationwide resistance – unprecedented in the global history. Who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in forests and swamps then? Those were our Slavs, our Russian people – and this is the answer why we are with them today. In the difficult post-war period, in the dashing 1990s, during the global crises and the pandemic, Belarusians have always been united in the face of difficulties and challenges. I heard you, you heard me. Together we withstood the onslaught of liberal models, pulling the country out of ruin, out of the abyss," the President stressed. “We have preserved the continuity of historical epochs and traditions. We made all the strategic decisions ourselves – no matter how much we were accused of being controlled by someone. We did it ourselves! We made [decisions] by an overwhelming majority of votes at referendums and elections, by supporting the country’s political course that we have been following for almost three decades,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasised.