Lukashenko: sanctions related situation indicates how much the West is dependent on Russian energy resources
In an interview with France-Presse, Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on the sanctions policy pursued by the West and its consequences for European countries
“To what degree can you make decisions in your interests, and not in the interests of Russia – when Russian troops are here, when you depend on Russian energy resources and on Russian loans?” the journalist asked, and the President openly replied, “The situation with your wild, incomprehensible sanctions has shown how dependent you are on Russian energy resources. You are an established democracy, a well-established country that has not been divided but has existed within these borders for a long time... We have seen how much you are dependent. Why do you have such rapid inflation? Why do you keep shouting that you lack natural gas, oil, and so on?”
The Head of State reminded that Belarus is a young state, which until recently was part of one big country. After the USSR collapse, it continued to develop the economy independently. At the same time, the Russian direction in trade has always been the main one, although a significant share of exports has been heading to Europe in recent years. As noted by the President, Russia has always been the main source of energy resources for Belarus. Although the country bought oil from other countries, that was economically more expensive. “So here's our dependence. This has historically happened. It takes many billions of Euros to sift through the economy. I did not have such money, I do not have it now and will never have. Is it actually necessary? We have the good economy,” he said.
The Belarusian leader reasonably noted, “The fact that Russians are helping us today... Well, I am not against if France would help us. Why did you refuse to co-operate with us? Why did you close your airspace for our planes, disabling people to communicate? Why? In 2021, our turnover made half a billion Dollars, and you sold us more than we exported to you. Was that bad for you? Why did you refuse that co-operation?”
