MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – Belarus managed to avert a new world war during the protest period, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the Big Conversation with the President, a meeting with the public, experts and media community in the format of a big press conference in Minsk on 9 August, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus is located at the crossroads. Had we showed weakness during the protests, we would have been ripped apart. As a result, a new world war would have erupted. I realized that bayonets were being sharpened on the other side of the border, so I put the army on alert and the Polonez multiple rocket launcher on standby. We would have struck, but they didn't cross the line. Had it happened, Russia would have never backed down risking to lose Belarus. There would have been a mess involving a nuclear power. That was what we avoided back then. As for those who took to the streets, it was simply unpleasant. We had thousands of ways to keep them in check,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
