MINSK, 1 September (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has said that Belarus will not lose independence as long as he is in power and he will never condone such a step. He made the relevant statement while answering questions of participants of the open lesson “Historical memory - the road to the future” on 1 September, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “You are asking the wrong guy. It won't happen on my watch. Not sure about your watch. There will be no merger. Surrendering Belarus, merging it with another country means throwing away more than a quarter of a century of my work as the president. How can I betray something I have been gluing together for decades? Step away from the Internet and don't listen to those, who talk about it. It is impossible under the current president.”
“Hold on to the country. It is our piece of land!” he urged.
Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out his speech during the open lesson had been nationalistic from the point of view of Belarus' sovereignty and independence. “That's firstly. And secondly nobody demands of me to surrender Belarus to anyone. What for?” he said.
The president is convinced that Russia and its leadership have no intention of annexing Belarus and no such proposals had been made. On the contrary, the countries maintain mutually beneficial cooperation. Belarus gets energy resources at advantageous prices. In turn, Belarus supports Russia.
“They sell oil to us now the way they sell it in Russia. And help us. The market has been opened. We can sell everything we make on the highly profitable Russian market. In other words, they demonstrate with deeds that they are ready to build relations with us. But we have not backstabbed Russia either. When everyone was afraid of saying something during this operation, I said: yes, we stand with Russia and I will not allow Russians to be shot in the back. My stance was clear. I've never been silent. I openly maintained this position. But I said right away that I don't want you and my kids to fight in Ukraine. Are they fighting there? No,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out.
When asked what measures the government is planning to encourage young citizens to preserve the history of their families and their native land, Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “All the measures and projects you may want to stage in Belarus will take place. Lawfully and not contrary to requirements of our state. Taking into account the availability of money and time. Any event. Put forward proposals. I am very mobile in this regard, particularly for young people.”
The president said he was a Komsomol leader back in the day and representatives of the Belarusian republican youth union BRSM suggested they should participate in the reconstruction of the WW2 memorial complex Khatyn not so long ago. Aleksandr Lukashenko backed up the proposal right away and gave the necessary instructions.
Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled he used to work in summer when he was a university student and could earn enough money to buy two sets of clothes over the course of summer so that he could have something to wear for the next two semesters. The family was not rich and Aleksandr Lukashenko tried to provide for himself and help the mother.
