MINSK, 3 July (BelTA) - Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko talked with participants of the patriotic youth project Memory Train during a commemorative ceremony at the Mound of Glory memorial near Minsk on 3 July, BelTA has learned.
One of the participants asked the president what achievements over the years of independence he considers the biggest, which he is proud of. "You have asked the main question in the life of any president. This is the number one issue. If any politician says that he does not think about it, this is not true," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
"The most important thing that we did together is that for the first time in history we have built a sovereign and independent state. That never happened before. Therefore, it was a historic achievement. I'm proud of it. That's the most important thing. We will buy everything else, as I say," the head of state said.
One of the representatives of the Russian Federation, who also participated in the project, proposed to jointly declare next year in Belarus and Russia the Year of Historical Memory. "Our project and the Year of Historical Memory in Belarus have shown that there are a lot of patriots among young people and there is a keen interest in history. We do not want to lose such experience and therefore we suggest that you, together with your Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, discuss the idea of declaring next year the Year of Historical Memory," she said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko did not rule out that this is possible. "If you don't want to lose this experience, you won't lose it. It's happiness. It's a very good idea. I promise we will discuss this idea soon," he said. “Unless Russian has already made a decision with regard to the following year, then it is possible. The fact that you have publicly proposed this idea is already a step towards it. We will not be able to get out of this. Thank you for your proposal.”
Another initiative suggested by the Memory Train participant from Belarus was to supplement the Mound of Glory with an alley of memorial signs with capsules of soil and descriptions of feats of arms of cities awarded for courage and fortitude during the Great Patriotic War. “It is a very logical, reasonable proposal. I think it a worthy proposal. We will think about it and definitely make a decision this year. It is a good proposal,” the Belarusian president said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked the Memory Train participants from Belarus and Russia. “Thank you for your participation. Stay together. It is very important,” he said. “Thank you very much. Well done. I am glad that, after many years (more than 30 years), Russians and Belarusians are together. You are a small number who have traveled on this train, but are the best. It is symbolic. It is an example for all the others,” the president said.
The head of state was given a photo album and the Memory Train symbol as a present.
