MINSK, 28 October (BelTA) – Belarus does not consider itself responsible for the deterioration of relations with the West and is ready to work together for peace, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the 3rd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in Minsk on 28 October, BelTA has learned.
Speaking about Belarus-EU relations, the head of state emphasized an important point: “If you are strategically committed to peaceful coexistence, do not try to change us, and we will not try to change you.”
“We have our own mentality, culture, and historical stage of social development. We do not accept any form of ideological or other aggression. Tense external conditions have been created by you, and subversive activities are taking place. You have bought off a dozen or two members of our self-exiled opposition and are portraying them as if they are the legitimate authorities in Belarus and Russia. And then you shout: ‘The dictatorship! Putin and Lukashenko are co-aggressors.’ We will endure this,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
According to the president, Europe is not yet prepared for a realistic dialogue with Minsk and does not see “negotiating positions similar to those available to some other countries, like natural resources”. “But we have common sense, endurance, and also advantageous strategic location and the ability to serve as a bridge between the West and the East, as we have always been,” the Belarusian leader noted. He stressed that it is in Europe’s interest to ensure at least peaceful coexistence. But if that is not the case, then the discussion will need to move onto a completely different footing, the head of state added.
“We do not consider ourselves guilty of the deterioration of relations with the West and with certain individual countries. But we are willing to extend our hand. This is not a hand of a supplicant. It is the hand of a partner who respects itself and proposes to work together, sincerely, for the peace of our children and grandchildren,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
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