Western media on Presidential Address: Lukashenko winning politically

The Address of President Aleksandr Lukashenko to the Belarusian People and the National Assembly, delivered on March 31st, aroused increased attention of the world media. At the same time, the media not only published excerpts from the speech of the Belarusian Head of State or posted news reports about him, but also sometimes made curious analytical and geopolitical conclusions.

It should be mentioned that the theme of social justice, which ran like a golden thread through the entire Presidential Address, was diligently ‘ignored’ by the Western media. No wonder: this is an extremely painful aspect for the countries of the collective West. Only the Voice of America (VOA) briefly reported this, trying to speak ironically, “The Belarusian Head of State decided to start his Address to the Belarusian People with the so-called social problems. According to him, education must meet the needs of the domestic economy.”

The focus of the Western audience was shifted to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus.

The Lithuanian wing of the Baltic news agency DELFI states, “The political weight of Lukashenko will increase. Yes, Belarus will now be a country in which nuclear weapons will be located. Although these are Russian weapons, countries that physically have nuclear weapons are treated differently than those who do not. So Lukashenko is winning politically in this regard.”

Australian broadcaster ABC told its viewers, “Mr. Lukashenko said Moscow’s plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus would help ‘safeguard’ the country, which he said was under threat from the West.”

Military expert Keir Giles on the air of CNN concluded, “A decision on nuclear weapons in Belarus will deter the West in Ukraine… Russia has already ‘used’ nuclear weapons. It’s used them highly successfully without firing them.”

The Baltnews portal cites the main theses from the speech of the Belarusian leader, stating at the same time the inconsistency of the propaganda attacks on Belarus, “The Baltic States have long accused Belarus of turning into another military district of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the President of the Republic of Belarus has repeatedly stated that there is not a single Belarusian soldier in the zone of the special military operation.”

The online edition continues, “Hysteria and fear! Lithuania evaluated the plans of the Russian Federation for the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.”

It is noteworthy that a few days before the Address of the Belarusian leader, the Baltnews portal anticipated one of the topics raised during the conversation between the President and those present in the hall of the Palace of the Republic, lashing out at the extremists who had settled in Lithuania, fleeing from Belarusian and Russian justice. In the material with a self-explanatory title ‘Panic on the Scamming Dreadnought – the Crew Dropped the Ballast Overboard’, the portal writes, “There is no sense from the impudent ‘fighters’. On the contrary, at their expense, national communities grow and turn into uncontrolled ethnic associations with their leaders, traditions, rules and Slavic mentality, unacceptable for the titular ones... Summarising, it’s possible to say: ‘after the Crimea’ Vilnius began to welcome all sorts of renegades, blindly placing an anti-Russian stake on them. After August 2020, the capital opened its doors wide for opponents of the legitimate president of Belarus in the hope of overthrowing Lukashenko in the near future. However, the plans did not come true, and in 2023 Vilnius began to get rid of the ballast that could sink the Lithuanian low-manoeuvrable dreadnought.”

Baltnews concludes, “Guys, you have been told many times: Lithuania is not Russia, where you can appeal to the authorities. You have no chance here. No one here is going to reckon with your interests. You have fulfilled your mission; now the place for slag is in the gateway. You were looking for happiness – here’s a Lithuanian spadeful of happiness for you. This is how life is arranged in a deeply democratic Lithuania. Have you, fellow dissidents, been warned about a severe hangover? It has come. Maybe you should go home and repent?”

But back to the topic of the Address: despite numerous facts, including those voiced during the speech of the Belarusian leader, the BBC continues to stubbornly lie, “Neither Poland, nor the NATO leadership, nor the United States talked about plans to attack Belarus.”

News agencies Reuters, U.S. News & World Report and the Canadian National Post simultaneously reported, “Lukashenko has said that the Russian tactical nuclear weapons to be deployed in his country will protect it from Western threats.”

British Express observed, “A. Lukashenko confirms Western fears nuclear weapons will be stationed in Belarus. If Moscow sends nuclear weapons to Belarus, it will mark their first deployment outside Russian borders since the early 1990s.”

The American magazine Newsweek reports that the President of Belarus has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and for talks to start on a lasting peace settlement without preconditions, “We must stop now before an escalation begins. I’ll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities...a declaration of a truce,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his Address to the nation on Friday.”

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post also drew attention to this moment, adding that, “Lukashenko has warned Ukraine against launching an anticipated counter-offensive, saying it would make negotiations between Moscow and Kiev impossible.”

The French publication TF1 INFO reported, “The President of Belarus, a close ally of Russia, called for a truce in Ukraine. The Head of State also advocates negotiations ‘without preconditions’ between the two enemies.”

According to Belarus 1 TV channel, the Canadian television network Global News informed its viewers that the Kremlin had immediately responded to the call by the leader of Belarus (Russia’s closest ally) for an immediate ceasefire without preconditions and for talks between Moscow and Kiev on a lasting peace settlement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia has taken note of Aleksandr Lukashenko’s comments and President Vladimir Putin will discuss them with him in the coming days.