MOSCOW, 10 September (BelTA) – Belarus honors all its commitments to partners but it cannot ensure the border security of the European Union due to the sanctions. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement after negotiations with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 9 September, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “What do you want from us? You introduce more and more sanctions against us every day. We are already way ahead of the Russian Federation on sanctions. They've introduced so many sanctions within literally six months. Do I and the Belarusian people have to protect them at the border? No.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed out that the European Union had curtailed all the programs within the framework of the Belarus-EU agreement on readmission. “Reap the fruits of your policy now,” he added. “Look at their ‘democratic' face: they shoot at, hound these migrants with dogs, organize groups and herd them across the border to Belarus while shooting above their heads, thank god, for now. Although some have died. They throw the bodies across the border to Belarus for us to take them. That's their ‘democratic' face. We honestly fulfilled our mission until they resorted to force to turn the country upside down and bring down the government.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that as the USA pulled out its troops from Afghanistan, it ordered the European Union to accommodate all the Afghan refugees. According to the president, the European Union said they would comply with the order and would take in the Afghans. “If you tell them to come to you, then take them in regardless of wherever they come from. Why do you have to complain about Belarusians or Russia?” he wondered.
“We will always do what a reliable partner has to do. If Europe wants normal relations, okay, we are ready to negotiate tomorrow,” Aleksandr Lukashenko summed it up.
