MINSK, 3 February (BelTA) – I have known you for a long time, despite not meeting with you before, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in Minsk on 1 February, BelTA has learned.
The president said that ahead of Michael Pompeo's visit to Minsk, a lot had been written about the Belarusian-American relations. “Enemies joked and mocked. They wrote a lot about you, about me. The topic was very sharp. I think it was the same in the West, too,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
According to him, everything was about that meeting being held for the first time, and the Belarusian authorities, including the head of state, being unfamiliar with the current U.S. secretary of state. “I would disappoint them, and remind you by saying that we have known each other for a long time. Although we have not met before unfortunately. When you served at your previous post [of the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency], I absolutely do not hide it, we have held a number of operations together with the U.S. special services,” said the head of state.
The president explained that those activities were related to the fight against terrorism and trafficking in persons. “We conducted several very serious operations to counter the proliferation of nuclear elements. I remember several cases when we together detained criminals, who were moving nuclear materials across the border of Belarus to the West,” the Belarusian leader said.
“We have at least a small but joint history of working for the sake of peace and the fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Today you, as the U.S. Secretary of State, and your leader, Donald Trump, pay great attention to this topic. As you can see, we have something in common, something which is very important for people,” the president concluded.
Photos by Nikolai Petrov
