Opinions & Interviews
Lukashenko: Europe does not need nationalism
MINSK, 30 June (BelTA) – Europe, in particular Germany, does not need nationalism that will grow into fascism, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in Minsk, BelTA has learned.
“You know what surprises me... It’s quite a normal demand – to drop nationalism that degenerates into fascism. I am telling you this as a historian. We don’t need it, and Europe doesn’t need it either. They are cultivating it in Ukraine, they support it. Fine. And what if tomorrow it spills over into Europe? They don’t need it. Europe does not need it, especially Germany. They remember the lessons of history. They must understand that it will gain ground and take root throughout Europe,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
Sergey Lavrov noted that the Alternative for Germany political party created a non-governmental organization to combat Russophobia. “In other words, it is already beginning to surface in the public field,” he noted.
“Mr Lavrov, you understand it better than anyone else: they didn’t leave any other option for us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “There was a suggestion [for the collective West] to discuss security in the run-up to the special operation [in Ukraine] and a proposal to sign agreements, to get together at the negotiating table and so on, without operations and wars, without shooting. They rejected it. It is their choice,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The Russian foreign minister agreed with the Belarusian leader. He added that at the recent NATO summit, the alliance declared Russia a “direct threat” and said China posed “serious challenges”. “They reaffirmed their open door policy and the decision passed at the 2008 Bucharest Summit to welcome Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership,” Sergey Lavrov noted.
“It will make it [NATO] very strong,” the president remarked ironically. “Well, let it be,” he said.
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