MINSK, 27 May (BelTA) – The country's sovereignty is the everlasting value, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with MPs, members of the Constitutional Commission and representatives of government bodies on 26 May, BelTA informs.
“The surrender of sovereignty is out of the question. I reiterate: we will not surrender our sovereignty with me as president. Belarus is my child. I have done my best to build this country. How can I ruin it with my own hands? No, I won't allow it. If you want to, go ahead, but without me. This is the everlasting value. We will never be happy under external leadership. Never!” the Belarusian leader stressed.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, big states also support Belarus in the current situation: “Both Russia and China support us and help a lot.”
Speaking about China, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that previously in a conversation with China President Xi Jinping he asked to help with expansion of the delivery of necessary products to the Chinese market on a competitive basis. As a result, there was a significant boost in bilateral trade. China has continually provided gratuitous aid to Belarus in the fight against the pandemic.
“As for the Russian Federation, there have been some issues in our relations. Because, as you can see, people are different, interests are different. But I cannot say that the relations with Russians have worsened. On the contrary, we are now trying to find solutions, including for enterprises under sanctions,” the president said.
The head of state touched upon the cooperation with Russia when one of the participants of the meeting asked about sanctions of western countries against Belarus. “The Russian Federation is our main trading partner. Various issues emerge in our relations. But on the whole, we are building our relations. There is no catastrophe in the trade and economic relations with Russia, although some problems exist. It is natural because it is not Putin-Lukashenko who trade but certain companies and enterprises. Their interests may differ.”
“But right now they are imposing more and more sanctions against Russia. We are under sanctions too,” the Belarusian leader continued. “I once asked the Russian president that there was no reason to be concerned about it as Russia and Belarus produce much more than our states can consume and digest. We just need to build a system and sell these products. First of all, we need to saturate our own market. And our dialogue is focused on that matter today. We will continue discussing it on Friday [at the meeting of the presidents of Belarus and Russia in Sochi on 28 May]. We will also discuss the sanctions policy against Belarus and Russia.”
Speaking about measures to counteract sanctions and ensure the sustainable operation of enterprises, Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed: “Everyone should just do their jobs well. That's all.”
