MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) - The so-called independent foreign media acted against the Belarusian people and the country, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said while fielding a question from CNN during the big press conference in Minsk on 9 August, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that there were no repressions against the so-called independent foreign media in Belarus. The mass media outlets, which came under the appropriate sanctions, violated the Belarusian legislation. "You came to my country to maintain relations between peoples and also to tell the truth. Yet, you have turned everything upside down. You defamed my nation, the state, let alone me. And you it journalism?" the president asked.
The head of state recalled that he openly stated that such organizations will be closed down. "If you (CNN, BBC and other large companies) decide to work here, we will consider your request for accreditation. But you must adhere to our laws," the Belarusian leader stressed.
He noted that more than a thousand applications have been submitted for the "Big Conversation with the President", a third of them were from foreign outlets. "You may not have been given access, but following the principle of openness, I personally instructed the press secretary to invite you, knowing your latest fakes. After such fakes, neither Russia, nor China, nor India, or even Ukraine would even consider speaking with you. Yet I said, let them attend, we will talk openly," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
