Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 7 April (BelTA) – Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan should address the crisis situation together, not separately, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in his interview with the interstate television and radio company Mir, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian leader noted that the sanctions that were imposed on Russia affected the economic development of its neighboring countries, Belarus and Kazakhstan among them. “Instead of joining our efforts to get out of this situation (this first of all applies to Russia, our main ally), we started to take actions to solve the situation single-handedly,” Alexander Lukashenko noted.

To achieve this, the countries are limiting the access to their markets, introduce restrictions on the supplies of different products from neighboring countries. “By doing so we are trying to distance ourselves from one another and to protect ourselves separately. This is not the right thing to do in this situation. We should join our efforts, this will make things easier. I do not think it is normal that last year our trade fell, if I am not mistaken, by almost 40% and this year the decline continues. This is not normal,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

“Who could imagine that such issues would come out of the blue. This is not normal. All our government agencies and bodies should work to settle the issues that fall within their purview and not raise them at the top level,” the Belarusian head of state emphasized.