Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko: I do not want my people to go to war

KAMENETS DISTRICT, 1 August (BelTA) – Belarusians are not rattling their sabers. They are preparing to defend the country, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he talked to residents of Belovezhsky agro-town in Kamenets District, Brest Oblast, BelTA has learned.

"We are living in a difficult time. I won't dwell on it. You see it yourselves. I will only say that we are peaceful people, we’ve have enough wars in our history. As a historian, I know this well. There were a lot of bloody battles. Not only Brest Fortress fought to the bitter. Lots of people suffered in that terrible war, the witnesses of which are still alive. Every family had losses. Therefore, I do not want my people, especially while I am president, to go to war. You see what is happening in the neighboring country. They are our cousins, related people. We have a lot of relatives there. It is a terrifying prospect. We draw conclusions, learn lessons. We are not rattling our sabers but are preparing to be able to defend the country at any moment," the head of state said.

The president noted that Belarus is counting on the support of fraternal Russia in this matter. "Without help, it will be difficult. But who will help us? Only our brothers in the east - Russians," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state noted that the Russian leadership responded even to the biggest request from Belarus. The matter is about the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the country. They are a safety factor alongside the nuclear power plant, the president noted. "A nuclear country has never been attacked before," he explained. “We have a nuclear power plant. This, I must tell you, is a very strong safety factor: if it explodes, God forbid, all will be affected. Therefore, you have to be very careful with it. We see what is happening with the nuclear reactors in Ukraine."

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, more than half of the nuclear weapons that were planned to be deployed in Belarus has already been brought and deployed across the country. "God forbid we have to use this weapon. I still hope that this will not happen," the president added. “We don't mess with anyone. Please don't mess with us either. We will ensure our security with the help of our friends."

"Our western neighbors seem to have taken leave of their senses. I just don't know why they are acting the way they do. We lived peacefully, like good neighbors. Then venomous people came to power, I can't call them otherwise, and things went off the rails. But they seem to start coming back to their senses. The Poles are no fools. People there are similar to us. They have just put pressure on the leadership and are starting to get things moving ahead of the elections. I don't even want to talk about Lithuania, Latvia. These are minions. They willingly destroyed their own country: Lithuania used to have a population of 4.5 million. Now it is two million. Where have people gone? But that's their business. We do not interfere in their affairs. We want to have normal relations. Belarusians, Poles, Lithuanians have always lived peacefully. We do not close the border to them. We welcome them to come over, buy stuff they need," the head of state said.

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