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Lukashenko not against selling electricity to Lithuania, Ukraine

LIDA, 26 October (BelTA) – I am not against selling electricity to Lithuania and Ukraine, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he talked to the staff of Lida Central District Hospital on 26 October, BelTA has learned.

“That's how things have turned. Fortunately, in our favor. But we don't want to take advantage of that. I'm not that kind of person. As I often say, I grew up in the village, and everyone looked out for each other," the head of state said. “Of course, we could turn our back on them and not supply, for example, electricity to Lithuania and suggest them buying this electricity in the European Union where it is ten times more expensive. But we feel sorry for their people. Let alone Ukraine. They are our kith and kin. The situation there is dire today,” he said.

"I feel sorry for their people. Therefore, when the prime minister recently reported to me that they asked for electricity, I said that we need to help. That's it. As for their government… You know what kind of government they have. They are controlled from the outside. They are under the thumb of the United States today. Their very existence hinges of financial aid from the USA. Are we going to make that situation any worse for them? This would be ungodly," the Belarusian leader said.

“Therefore, I said that we will help. It would be mean not to help a suffering neighbor when we have excess capacities. This would be un-Slavic or un-Christian," the president said. “Many suggest punishing them. Listen, who are we going to punish? Regular folks?"

Speaking about the nuclear power plant in Belarus, the head of state expressed confidence that the decision to build it was the right one. Moreover, some opposition members suggested shutting down in exchange for some European subsidies. "Imagine we shut it down. What would we be doing today? Why do they ask us for electricity? Because we have it in excess," the president noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that about 10 European countries have declared their intention to build a nuclear power plant. "Poland wants two, Lithuania – one for at least three Baltic states. The question arises: why they did not want us to build the plant? It's competition. They wanted us to be weak," the head of state said.

Moreover, thanks to the construction of nuclear power plant, Belarus has gained relevant experience and began to train nuclear industry specialists.

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