MOGILEV, 28 May (BelTA) - There is no free market and there never was. This concept was imposed on us on purpose, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the Belarus Media Forum in Mogilev on 28 May, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko called the free market concept as the main myth during the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We were cloaked in the foggiest fog as the Soviet Union collapsed. Maybe someone will disagree with me. But I have lived through it, just as you live in an information war today," he said.
"Having thought all this through (I see that my colleagues have begun to see it differently), I have this idea that this was imposed on us on purpose. Because there is no free market (supply and demand) and never was. This concept was imposed on us by the United States of America. Everything is simple for them: their economy is based on papers. Unfortunately, since we have all swallowed this paper bait, they are doing ok. I mean the dollar. They regulate relations in the world, strangle some countries and support others. They do whatever they want," the president said.
"In this situation, it was very easy for them to impose a market (I call it simply ‘chaos’). We did not go this way. It was my position: do what’s best for the country. I understood that if we cut agricultural lands into pieces, there would be no one to give them to. We are struggling sometimes to find an executive for a large-scale farm," Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Look at Ukraine. It all started with oligarchs... They started fighting over assets and the fight led to an internal conflict, to the Maidan."
The head of state stressed that the economy is the foundation of everything. Belarus decided to move step by step, keeping in touch with certain trends, for example, privatization. “We were very practical. We got some assets privatized. After all, the state cannot participate in some processes. We were grounded in reality and did what’s best for the country. We see what happened to those who blindly followed the Americans on this road. Analyze and see. They gave us a time bomb and we did not notice it in the post-Soviet space," the president said
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that he had discussed this problem together with his colleagues in the Eurasian Economic Union. The presidents agreed that it is important to plan and regulate processes. “The post-Soviet republics rushed recklessly to implement the market economy reforms, and achieved almost nothing. China has reached such heights, among other things, because it has not given up planning."
The head of state also cited Japan as an example: "They provide for themselves, develop the manufacturing sector. They make 500 plans or so every year. They regulate almost everything."
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