MINSK, 18 January (BelTA) – Attempts to sow discord between Belarusians and Russians will fail, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the Belarusian diplomatic service attended by the former foreign ministers of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
“I and especially Vladimir Makei [Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus] have recently been accused of going wrong in the foreign policy. Our brothers, the Russians, say we are too pro-western. In the west we are criticized for relying too much on the Russian Federation,” the head of state noted.
Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the things he is concerned about. According to him, the matter is not about the tax maneuver carried out in the oil industry of Russia. “We will survive it. What I do not quite get is the attack on Belarus in mass media (I think I will have to address this question to the Russian leadership). The things like Batka-1, Batka-2, Batka-3... Back then they wanted to find some money of mine and seize it. Let them find and take it. I am absolutely clean and honest with you. I am concerned by the attempts to cause a clash between Belarusian and Russians,” the president said.
In this regard, the head of state cited an example. A video was uploaded on the Internet and then spun in the Russian media as an example of attacks on Russians in Belarus. “You know this video in the Internet, when someone on the subway provoked a conflict with another person and very soon (you get the feeling it was ordered from Russia) this story was served up as an example of attacks on Russian people. When I learned about this incident, I immediately ordered to find out more about it. I understand that all kinds of things can happen. It turned out that no Russians were in this video. It was a conflict between two Belarusians. It is noteworthy that the conflict was quickly recorded (it is easy to make such videos today) and rushed into the Internet. And they [Russian media] grasped at it. It turned out that one of the two Belarusians was a former riot police member who had served a prison term for a bribe. The second Belarusian was a headcase. A broil emerged. What does it have to do with Russians?” Alexander Lukashenko asked.
“I am saying it because I want to make my position clear: no one will ever be able to pit Belarusians against people of Russia. Not only against Russians, but generally, against people of Russia. No one will be able to use it to reap some benefits in Russia. It will not work. Once I said it roughly: we are Russians, too, it is impossible to set us against each other; a Belarusian is a quality version of a Russian (I said it over 20 years ago). It is very dangerous to play with this topic,” the head of state underlined.
“Sometimes I ask myself about it, but today I ask it publicly: is Ukraine really not enough for someone in Russia? Do you really have to make a problem out of nothing? Okay, you are unable to offer us the compensation for the tax maneuver. Never mind. We are not taking away your products from you. You trade in oil and gas that. God put into your soil and where we drilled wells in the past. I told Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] about this at our latest meeting. I asked him to remember that back then, in the Soviet times, when we were still kids, specialists from here [Belarus] went there to drill wells, in both oil and gas fields. They are still operational,” the Belarusian leader said.
Alexander Lukashenko stressed that Belarus is not asking for money. It insists on equal rights. “We are able to earn it [money]. We, small Belarus and huge Russia, have set up a common market. Are you afraid of competition? Let us compete on this market. No, they are putting spokes into wheels. Secondly, for the agreements that we signed. What we were looking for was equal rights. Where are these equal rights? Competition rests on such principles. They [Russia] are more economically advanced. We will seek our fortune on equal rights,” the president said.
As for the attempts to cause a clash between Belarusians and Russians, the president reiterated that it is inadmissible and can lead to an aggravation of the situation. “If this topic is spun, especially in the Russian media, tomorrow we will have scumbags in Belarus who will beat Russians. Even if we do not have any, they will send them here. You know they will send them here from any country to make such videos and put them into news cycles. They will use these very videos on the biggest Russian TV channels without even looking into the situation. This is where the major danger lies,” the head of state said.
“This will not happen in Belarus. If there are such cases, there will be an immediate response. The country's law enforcement bodies have been instructed to suppress any attempts of the kind,” the Belarusian leader said.
