NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 23 February (BelTA) – The conflict in Ukraine was inevitable and its primal causes are not in Russia. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement an interview with Chinese mass media, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “The Russian-Ukrainian conflict is one year old now. Yes, we talk about causes of this conflict but it is easier to see big things from afar as we like to say. Some time needs to pass in order to evaluate causes of this conflict. It is purely the Chinese style – one should never hurry. Time will come and we will dot every i. But I absolutely agree with President Putin, who says that primal causes are not in Russia. Bullying of Russian-speaking people, of the Russian language. It happened before 2014. And all of it had been ramped up by Western countries. Naturally, no country, neither America nor China would allow their compatriots to be bullied. People, who simply speak Russian and live according to Russian customs. People, who accept Russian culture. Moreover, vitriol from the side of Ukraine went all the way to the president of Russia and the entire Russian leadership. There is an entire bunch over there.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded those present about statements made by the former leaders of Germany and France Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande. They admitted that they had exploited the Minsk agreements only to buy time for military preparations in Ukraine.
“The cause is over there, in the years 2014-2015. The Minsk agreements were adopted here, in Minsk. Those were normal agreements and Ukraine signed these agreements. They should have followed this path. And I guarantee you that today Donbass would be Ukrainian and would be governed by Kiev. All kinds of rough edges would have been forgotten a long time ago,” Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced.
“Masks are off, cards are on the table. That's the entire cause there is and the entire concept,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
He remarked that many people in Russia failed to comprehend actions of the country's leadership. “I always tell Russians: don't be hasty, time will come, and you will evaluate who is right and who is wrong,” Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked.
“Some people in Russia say: you know, Russia was a bit hasty to start this military operation. But I say it was inevitable. The conflict in Ukraine was inevitable. If Russia had not forestalled this war from the side of Ukraine (now it is understandable who was interested in this war and who started it), if Russia had not preempted Ukraine's actions and actions of the entire West from Ukraine's territory, consequences would be more severe,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.
