MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) - The CIS countries should reopen to each other and resume transport services which have been limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with the heads of the delegations of the CIS Heads of Government summit on 28 May, BelTA has learned.
The head of state said that he is well aware of the situation across the CIS, which is about the same in all the member states. “Why have we closed up and do not let our people communicate? We will get over it. We need to do everything right so that our people do not point fingers at us, as it has already been happening in the West,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“If the current situation is more or less normal and we have leveled it off, let us reopen to each other,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus has not closed its borders since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and the effectiveness of measures taken to combat the infection has been recognized by experts of the World Health Organization.
“We have chosen our own way to combat the coronavirus, but we could not close up. Otherwise, the economy would have collapsed. We have withstood it thanks to this policy,” the Belarusian leader said. He added that Belarus does not have huge reserves of minerals or even a printing press to provide additional foreign exchange earnings.
Even the strong European states suffered hard because of lockdowns. “But they have a printing press and can print euros. The United States could afford shutting down, they also have a printing press. We, even Russia, have nothing but our hands and brains. So let us reopen, let us communicate. The fact that we are closed will not reduce the spread of the disease. This process began long time ago. God grant it to be over as soon as possible. Nothing will change regardless of whether the plane flies or not, but we will be suffering huge losses,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“This pandemic (a blessing in disguise) has revealed how close we are to each other, how capable we are of supporting each other. No matter how we look at this collective West, but in this part, regardless of all the faults, they support each other. Thank God that the Russians have not shut down, as some have, and have been an example of support for us. We need to reopen. Sport, tourism, education, culture, science and most importantly - economy. Our people need to communicate,” the president stressed.
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that there are still some inconsistencies in this matter. For example, Belarus and Russia have resumed rail services, but there are still restrictions on air transport. “I think the Russian president and I will come to an agreement on this issue today [at the upcoming talks between the two presidents],” he said.
