MINSK, 5 June (BelTA) - Some are trying to manipulate my name at a time of the election campaign in the country, former Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said in an interview with BelTA commenting on the reports that he allegedly signed up for one of the potential candidates in the election.
Asked about his views of the election campaign that some forces are trying to turn into illegal rallies during the period of signature collection, Andrei Kobyakov said: "The election campaign is very active. It is no different from all other similar periods in our history. I did not put my signatures in any of the signature sheets anywhere. So when I saw Telegram channels reporting that I was there signing up for one of the candidates... There is nothing illegal about it, of course. But I did not do it.”
“I am outraged that my name is being used for some political purposes. I believe it is done by some third party which seeks to undermine the social and political situation in the country,” he said.
Andrei Kobyakov stressed that he has never been either a collaborator or a traitor, and will never be. “In order to make my position clear from the point of view of a voter, a person, who has worked in the government for quite a long time, I want to say that I am for the social stability in the country and all-round development of integration between Belarus and Russia,” the former prime minister said.
“Someone is trying to use my name without asking for permission. They would never get it anyway,” he concluded.
Andrei Kobyakov was also asked about the external forces that may be behind the attempts to exacerbate the situation in Belarus: “I believe that people are smart. They read, look, analyze these sources. I think it is done by those who do not want to see a normal situation in Belarus. Apparently, someone wants to make ‘Ukraine' out of Belarus in terms of the social and political situation.”
