Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko: Belarus stays committed to peace and creation
GRODNO, 2 April (BelTA) - Belarus wants to build its peaceful future, stays committed to creation, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during his working trip to Grodno on 2 April, BelTA has learned.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko attended a capsule laying ceremony at the construction site of a new hospital in Grodno. He emphasized that the event could be considered as a message to Belarus' neighboring countries. “We are now digging the land, just like them, very close to the border. But our goals are completely different. They dig trenches against tanks and other hardware, increase spending on strike weapons. We spend two-thirds of the region's budget on social welfare. We want to build our own peaceful future. We stay committed to creation,” the president emphasized.
“Do not believe anyone saying that we want to go to war. We are preparing for war, I am speaking frankly about it. The well-known phrase ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ is quite true,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. According to him, the country holds necessary military exercises, supplies its troops with various types of weapons and equipment. “Criticism coming from out there [from unfriendly countries] means we are doing the right thing. If they start praising us, this will mean we are in trouble,” the Belarusian leader said.
The head of state emphasized that Belarus does not threaten anyone: “We do not need to threaten anyone. We do not want someone else's lands. We have enough of ours to work on.”
Addressing the residents of Grodno, located in the western part of the country, the president emphasized: “You are our people. We will not give you to anyone. Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled how many years ago the Grodno residents asked him, a young politician then, to solve the issue of border crossing so that they could go visit their relatives in the neighboring countries. Everything was done on Belarus’ side. Now, the access for Belarusians have been complicated by the neighboring countries.
“Now they have fenced off from us. You can see that it is not my fault, it is their policy,” the head of state said. According to him, those who make such decisions abroad are not guided by the interests of their citizens, but pursue their selfish goals, profiting from the construction of fences on the border. Belarus, on the contrary, is open for visitors, has introduced a visa-free program. The Western countries began to frighten their citizens with possible recruitment in Belarus. “I do not need this recruitment. Who recruits like that? We have already recruited everyone we needed,” the president said.
“We will survive this. We want a peaceful life,” the head of state stressed. “I keep repeating that we do not need what does not belong to us. Cast no greedy eye at another man’s pie. That is what people used to say, and I learned it very well from my village life. I do not want what does not belong to me. I always say: do not touch what is not yours. Sooner or later it may turn into a disaster.”
“I want you, your children and grandchildren to live in a calm, peaceful country. As long as I am the president, as long as my assistants work here and across the country, we will pursue this policy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.
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