Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 5 July (BelTA) – Europe is in the epicenter of problems and the countries should resolve them in time. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made the statement during the plenary session held on 5 July on the occasion of the solemn opening of the 26th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko said: “I dare say that, unfortunately, in many respects Europe is at the crossroads of problems. The problems that seemingly have nothing to do with the European continent. Consequences of the problems may not be connected with Europe either. But we happen to be in the epicenter of these problems.”

The head of state referred to Middle East military conflicts, which had generated illegal migration, terrorism and many other problems. “Even the recent election in the United States of America had an impact on Europe. Certain processes of reformation of our relations with the United States of America and American-European relations have begun. These processes are neither simple nor easy. I am convinced that Europeans and Americans will overcome the negative effect of these problems. Nevertheless, the problems exist,” stated the president.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, the historical truth lies in the fact that the countries have never had a clearer understanding of what the lack of action means. “Without resolving problems in Europe — there are many, the largest ones are the Transdniestria and Nagorno-Karabakh — we ended up with our own conflict in the center of Europe — Ukraine. We have to pay most serious attention to the problems,” the Belarusian leader is convinced.

Alexander Lukashenko also drew attention to problems like drugs trafficking, trafficking in persons, air pollution, and climate change.

“If we fail to address these problems in time, they will generate more serious problems that will be impossible to avoid or will require huge amounts of money to deal with. This is why problems need to be resolved in a timely manner,” stated the Belarus president.