MINSK, 10 June (BelTA) – Belarus' Internal Affairs Minister Igor Shunevich offered his resignation to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, and it was accepted at the meeting on 10 June, BelTA has learned.
“I offered my resignation to the head of state at the today's meeting, and it was accepted,” Igor Shunevich told reporters after the meeting with the president.
The minister stressed that the decision to resign was “a balanced, right and timely one”. “A lot of difficult work was done at the ministry. A lot of work. At a certain moment I started to realize that it is necessary to ensure the continuity, dynamics, speed and efficiency of decision-making. It is rather difficult to keep up at times,” he said in order to explain the reasons for this decision. “First of all, a fresh look at the ministry's work is needed. Secondly, as far as my efficiency is concerned, I believe that time has come to switch a career. I have been minister for a rather long time. I may start to lose touch. Maybe, I just need to try something new. This is the only motivation, I told the head of state about it. He accepted it.”
Speaking about a possible new job, Igor Shunevich remarked that he had not had any concrete proposals yet. However, he believes he can be of use for the state at a different job. “Life goes on. I want and can work. I do not see anything extraordinary in this situation. Everything moves in a spiral. I'm not going to sit at home. I want to be of use for the state at any job,” he said.
Igor Shunevich was appointed internal affairs minister in May 2012. Previously he worked as first deputy internal affairs minister – head of criminal police. Before that he worked at Belarus' KGB where he led the investigation department, then the main department for counterintelligence support of law enforcement and audit bodies, fight against corruption and organized crime.