MINSK, 11 March (BelTA) - Belarus is absolutely not what the media tries to make it look in its doom-and-gloom reporting, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during the credentials ceremony in Minsk on 11 March, BelTA learned
The head of state noted that a new tenure of an ambassador is a kind of a stage in bilateral relations. Proactive and wise work of the head of the diplomatic mission can significantly strengthen relations between the countries and raise them to a new level for the benefit of the countries and peoples.
“I hope that your tenure in Belarus will be filled with interesting events, new acquaintances, a lot of useful activities that will allow us to jointly implement many mutually beneficial projects. Belarus is open for this,” the Belarusian leader said.
“You will have the opportunity to see with your own eyes that Belarus is completely different from the image media have concocted using only black colors and negative characterizations. Contrary to Western stereotypes, we are a rapidly developing nation. Despite the external pressure, we are comprehensively building up our capabilities, offering our friends and partners all the best practices we have gained over decades in science, education, healthcare, industry, agriculture and other sectors,” the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that this year started with an important political campaign in Belarus - the election of the head of state, during which the voters expressed their convincing support for the course of building a strong independent socially oriented state.
“We call it a state for the people that wishes to live in peace, in harmony with all countries regardless of their size, position in world rankings or place on the map. This is the essence of our foreign policy, our approaches to building relations with our neighbors and countries geographically distant from us,” the president said.
“Believe me, when we are not issued ultimatums or dictated terms, when we see a similarity of views and perceptions, neither distance nor different faiths or cultural traditions will prevent us from reaching an agreement,” the head of state said. “The language of respect and openness is universal. It does not need an interpreter. It is understood on all continents. All that is needed is goodwill and good intentions.”
“The policy of peacefulness, good-neighborliness and honesty is predetermined by our history. Belarusians have exhausted their limit of wars and turbulence in the previous centuries,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
He noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, which claimed the life of every third citizen and caused fatal destruction of most of the territory and economy of Belarus. In 1945, thanks to the Soviet people, fascism was defeated and all the peoples of Europe were able to breathe freely and begin their return to peaceful life. As a sign of international recognition of the contribution of the Belarusian people to the selfless fight against Nazism, Belarus became a founding member of the United Nations.
The president said that the sacred memory of the heroes-liberators, care for veterans, care for monuments and burial sites, inadmissibility of rewriting history are the essence of the state policy and ideology of the modern Belarusian state.
“This is not a manifestation of our bellicose policy, no matter how someone would like to present it that way. We just paid a very dear price for the victory, and we know very well the hardships and the losses, which the war brought us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
He also said that Belarus was conducting large-scale investigation into the crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices. And the facts that are discovered make one realize the true depth and scale of the Great Patriotic War in a new way.
“Therefore, at all levels we work every day to eliminate any discord in society, maintain interethnic and interfaith peace and harmony, do not threaten anyone, but at the same time strengthen the economic foundations and defense capacity of our state,” the head of state noted.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus advocates peaceful resolution of any conflicts through diplomatic means and is making considerable efforts to settle the armed confrontation in neighboring Ukraine and other hot spots as soon as possible. This is evidenced by the Belarusian initiatives to build an equal and indivisible security architecture, including in the Eurasian space, to hold a comprehensive dialogue in the spirit of the conference in San Francisco in 1945, which resulted in the creation of the UN Charter.
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