MINSK, 8 August (BelTA) – In an interview with TIME Magazine, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko outlined Belarus’ foreign policy priorities, BelTA reports.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the West sometimes claims that Belarus is ‘occupied by the Kremlin.’ In this context, the president pointed to the situation in neighboring countries. Take Ukraine – a wealthy, powerful nation, three times richer than Belarus – it’s been under Western occupation for a long time.
“And who’s occupying Poland? And the Baltic states that grovel not even to the Americans – the Americans probably look at them with contempt by now. They grovel to the Europeans, to those same Poles. They throw crumbs from the table, and they rush to peck at them like chicks. Aren’t they occupied?” the head of state asked.
“We all depend on someone – especially medium and small states. And we all strive to lean on someone, to be in an alliance, to ensure our security among other things. It’s called a balancing policy. I’ve often been criticized for this, accused of trying to ‘sit on two chairs,’ so to speak. I’ve never actually sat on two chairs,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He emphasized that Belarus has always sought to develop friendly relations with its neighbors. After all, as the head of state often says, neighbors are God-given – you do not get to choose them.
“I have to maintain relations with them. I tell the Russians the same thing. And besides, I have certain interests in these states, too, and in the European Union. We have interests even in distant America – primarily economic ones, as well as diplomatic ones. What’s wrong with that? It’s only natural,” the president remarked.
He added that Belarus counts Russia and China as key allies, though it also prioritizes ties with distant nations.
“This is only natural. And the world is changing. You can’t just climb into some cart, like they did 100 years ago or in Soviet times, and go galloping off in it forever. The world has changed, and we must change too. If we don’t adapt, we’ll be ground down, crushed, and destroyed,” the Belarusian leader is convinced.
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