MINSK, 28 January (BelTA) – There are two cases when Belarus may become involved in a war. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement in his address to the nation and the parliament on 28 January, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Our society is concerned about question number one: whether there will be a war or not. Our government didn't start these talks and I didn't either. We've gathered in order to sincerely discuss problems of our state and honestly and sincerely answer all the questions. So, will a war happen or not? Yes, it will happen. But only in two cases.”
One of them is a direct aggression and a hot war against Belarus, the president pointed out. “All of us will rise up to defend our lands and our fatherland, including those who don't want to. For centuries our nation has been fighting for our land, independence, and sovereignty. We've attained this independence. Today is the moment when we have to defend this independence,” the head of state stressed.
A possible attack against Belarus' ally – Russia – is the other reason for Belarus to become involved in a war. If it happens, Belarus will help defend Russia within the framework of allied agreements.
The president said: “I'd like to give an answer to the collective West's question about whether troops will be deployed in Belarus' territory. It is a very important question for them. If our country faces an aggression, there will be hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers here, who will defend this sacred land together with hundreds of thousands of Belarusians.”
At the same time Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that Belarusians oppose wars and will never initiate one. “As a person, who knows the cost of an unbelievably hard life (there are plenty of those in the chamber), I'd like to say that we categorically oppose wars. Things are very bad and terrible during wars,” he stressed. “Today's life is totally different than the life in 1941. Back then people's lives were simpler. They didn't have the comfort we enjoy today. If, god forbid, a war happens, then the simplest thing we will have to do is to get out of this comfort and live in terrible conditions and endure all the hardships of the time of war. Who wants that? No one. No one in the world wants that. But leaders of certain countries have forgotten it and have gone totally crazy. They think they will win this war. There will be no victory in this war. All of us will lose. This is why we don't want a war. We've had enough of wars. We want to live and work in peace.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that Belarus had never created problems for its neighbors and other countries. “And we are not going to create them. Not only because we are peaceful people but because we simply don't need it. We are not going to redivide the world. First, we don't need it. Second, we are not capable of that, we don't have the resources,” the Belarusian leader concluded.
