Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko: Belarus, Russia have successfully withstood first economic attacks
MOSCOW, 6 April (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia have successfully withstood the first wave of massive economic attacks, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting of the Union State Supreme State Council in Moscow on 6 April, BelTA has learned.
“You are aware of the situation around our countries. It is not easy. Without a doubt, we have tackled with dignity the first round of massive external economic attacks. Much has been said about this,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
The head of state cited import substitution as an example. He mentioned the production of machinery and equipment for the construction and maintenance of railways in Russia. “After the West left, they learned how to do it on their own,” the president noted.
According to the head of state, the failed attempts at an economic blockade were followed by military blackmail in the form of a consistent build-up of NATO forces and means near the Union State border, especially around Kaliningrad Oblast. “The economic blockade was doomed to fail. They sought to do it at a gallop. Had they thought about it thoroughly, they would not have started it, because our economies are self-sufficient. When they realized that they could not subdue us using economic means, they resorted to military pressure. The talks about a possibility of a global armed conflict are becoming more widespread,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He emphasized that in the context of the political, economic and information warfare unleashed against Belarus and Russia and against the backdrop of the international law crisis and the apparent inaction of international institutions, Belarus and Russia need to defend and promote national interests in an even more coordinated and efficient manner. “In my Address, I openly and directly said: if necessary, we will use everything that we can to defend our states and peoples,” Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled. “And we are not blackmailing anyone. We will just do it,” he added.
The head of state recalled that since last year the governments of Belarus and Russia have been working in the anti-crisis mode and have achieved noticeable results in adapting the economy to the new reality and building new trade and logistics routes. “The governments have done everything they were supposed to do. The key issues that were outlined have been resolved. Only technicalities remain. As our prime minister says, we will sort them out in the spring. Over the course of joint work, we have renewed cooperation ties, switched to Russian rubles in our trade in strategic goods, using loans we are implementing a number of big and much-needed investment projects worth more than one and a half billion,” the president noted.
In 2022, the Union State Council of Ministers and the Supreme State Council adopted 56 normative legal acts aimed at furthering the development of the Union State. Among them were the information security concept of the Union State, the foreign policy coordination program for 2022-2023, documents on border security and countering terrorism. The two countries also amended the way the Union State projects and programs are developed and implemented.
“Today we have an extensive agenda. We will consider both usual matters and completely new ones that are very important for us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
According to State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev, the meeting has seven talking points. They include the implementation of the provisions of the Union State Treaty and the Union State programs, the development of the Union State security concept.
print version
make home page
add to bookmarks
