Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) – Belarus is not seeking NATO membership, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at the meeting with the members of the public, representatives of the Belarusian and foreign mass media on 3 February, BelTA has learned.

“We have no NATO ambitions. We hold sacred our agreement to protect our land, as I always say, our homeland – Russia and Belarus,” the Belarusian head of state noted.

Speaking about the relations with Russia, Alexander Lukashenko said: “I want this conflict between the governments to have no influence on people. Therefore, I ask you to treat Russians with respect. They come to visit Belarus, they have holidays and bring money. They are our people. Presidents come and go, people remain. This is the important thing.”

“We will come to an agreement, sooner or later. Meanwhile, I hear comments: they will deploy troops and occupy Belarus. This is nonsense. No one will deploy troops to occupy our territory, and there will be no war. We will defend ourselves and our independence,” the head of state remarked.