Lukashenko: Russia is afraid of 'losing Belarus'
Russia will be the first to give a helping hand to Belarus because “they are still afraid of losing Belarus,” stated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a youth meeting, BelTA news agency reports.
Lukashenko spoke about the history of Belarus, particularly the hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Belarusian People’s Republic that lasted less than a year. “A strong desire to make Belarus independent could push them even to Kaiser, or God knows who else. There were such people as well. Is it a good page in our history? Probably not,” Lukashenko said and noted that this topic “should not be pressed even if you hate everything related to Russia.”
“Russians are our brothers. They are different; there are good ones and bad ones. Sometimes, our milk is not allowed there, or they do not allow our sugar to be sold there, or they stop supplying us with oil or gas. It happens. I have been through it in full,” the Belarusian leader added.
He noted that politicians are meant to resolve such controversial questions. “But it does not mean that they are our enemies. Who will be the first to give a helping hand to us? Russians. The reasons won’t matter. They are still afraid of losing Belarus,” he concluded.
Earlier, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) promised to impose restrictions on supplies of Belarusian dairy products to Russia after violations were identified. The restrictions should have been imposed on February 26 but the date was changed several times and as a result, on March 14, the agency decided to abandon these measures, promising to conduct additional checks of Belarusian companies. Lukashenko called the ban on Belarusian milk “a blatant political instrument” used by Russia.