MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – A headline-making interview of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko for the U.S. blogger Mario Nawfal has premiered. The video has been published by the social network X as well as by BelTA’s YouTube channel.
The interview lasted for an hour and a half. It took place on Thursday, 27 February. Aleksandr Lukashenko gave direct and frank answers to many questions, including questions concerning the exceedingly complicated current situation in the world, prospects of ending the war in Ukraine, the policy of the new U.S. administration and President Donald Trump personally. The Belarusian head of state also spoke about Russia’s position on a number of matters, his talks with Vladimir Putin, and an upcoming visit to Moscow.
The president expressed the view that on the whole, there should be no barriers for cooperation between the East and the West. Aleksandr Lukashenko’s key message is peace, the need to stop any conflicts and establish normal and trustful cooperation between major world players as soon as possible. He is convinced that all parties will benefit from it.
BelTA has put together the key quotations about various matters from Aleksandr Lukashenko’s interview.
Donald Trump and the new USA administration
“No one would have thought it would. But one person - Donald Trump - took the risk and put things upright (hopefully) instantly,” the head of state said.
“I think they are doing a great job. Trump is doing a great job. He does not only talk the talk, but he is already putting his words into action when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East. His efforts to end the war should be acknowledged. It seems to me that he has no other foreign policy but peace. Brilliant! Here I am ready to stand next to him and do everything I can to end the war and make people's lives better.”
“Musk did well to start auditing U.S. spending. The United States Agency for International Development was shut down, among other things. What were they doing? They were funding coups in other countries. More than $5 billion, as far as we know, was directed to organize Maidan in Ukraine. Why? We went through something similar in Belarus in 2020. Our coup attempt was also financed from these sources. That was how it happened.”
“After everything that happened in the United States, I still supported Trump publicly. I didn't think he was going to win. And when he won, I compared him to a bulldozer who plowed through the United States of America and won. It's unbelievable. He's an incredible man, and an incredible thing happened. He had a narrow escape in an assassination attempt... He is right: the Lord must have saved him. He saved him for some mission. Many people on our planet are watching what is happening in the United States. So is the Lord. And he evaluates it.”
“I made a joke privately that I would give the USA some good advice if I were there. I would tell Trump straight in his eye that’s not the way to go about things. There are too many statements that should not have been voiced… Let the dust settle after the election. It will be in the best interests of U.S. voters, first of all, and it will also benefit the entire international community, if you take steps that will be welcomed by the entire world and, first of all, the Americans. You have little time to prove to American society that you are capable of something. If you don't, the Republicans will suffer a crushing defeat in the next election, to no one's surprise.”
Peace and war in Ukraine
“We haven't talked about it, but I know him well, Putin didn’t expect it would turn into such a war. Otherwise he would not have agreed to the negotiations back then. When he saw a huge number of people dying, Putin instantly agreed to the negotiations to stop the conflict, to negotiate.”
“There's always a choice. And Putin may have had that choice. But it's not even so much about NATO expansion to the East, it's about the threats that were created in Ukraine… That's where he saw the threat to Russia and that’s where the threats were publicly made against him. That’s one of the big reasons for what happened.”
“When the Istanbul peace process was underway, the then UK Prime Minister, Johnson, came there. Everything was done publicly. And he forbade Zelensky to agree to peace. He pushed Zelensky once again to war. I know the inner workings of the politics in the West very well. Johnson would have never done it on his own, without the blessings of the then U.S. administration. Therefore, I am absolutely convinced that the United Kingdom and the Biden administration had a role in Ukraine escalation.“
“A certain result was achieved, and Putin often refers to it. There was a certain document that they agreed on. Had they implemented it, they would have been in a better place now. I publicly called on the Ukrainian authorities then to make peace, to agree. They refused, choosing to fight to the last Ukrainian. This is what the West was pushing Ukraine to. Well, they are still fighting to the last Ukrainian.”
“We will assign the blame later. No one will escape responsibility. We will come to grips with the reasons. This is not on the agenda right now… It was only with Donald Trump coming to power that the peace process started in earnest. He openly said what he could do and what would happen if the war were not stopped. He said the right thing. This must be stopped. We and the USA are in the same camp here. We have to do everything to stop it.”
“Ukraine is too small to destroy the world we all - the USA, China, Russia, and Ukraine - live in. It is a weak explosive force. So, we need to resolve the situation with Ukraine. It will be easier to resolve the Middle East issue if the Americans want it. I think we will solve these problems this year.”
Unwillingness to act as a mediator in the Ukrainian problem
“I hate mediation more than anything. It means getting involved in between someone and pretending that you can do something… If I can help with anything, like bringing people together or adding dynamics to some process, I will do it eagerly, if it can make people's lives better and if it is within my power and within the power of my state – Belarus. But I would in no way want to be a mediator, especially in the Ukraine peace process.”
The deployment of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine
“As for the deployment of peacekeeping forces over there, Russia will never agree to it. At least this is Russia’s position at the moment. Especially since the EU leadership, primarily represented by Germany and France, is taking a very aggressive position right now.”
Predictions come true for Zelensky
“I told him that a new administration would come to power in the United States and the policy would change. No one would support you [Zelensky] in the war. And that was exactly what happened. The writing was already on the wall. It’s not that I am a great soothsayer, but everything I said came true. It’s all documented in the media.
“You feel bad for Zelensky. So do I. I treated him like my own son. We were on very good terms. I was in Ukraine, and we held negotiations with Zelensky. He seemed like a smart person to me. He lacked experience in certain things. Those were his first steps in the position. He asked me things: how was this, what a certain person would do, what was the right way to go about this or that, and so on. We had warm, friendly relations. But the fact that he caved in to these extreme nationalist forces is bad.”
The USA’s policy towards the European Union and China
“To be honest, it is beneficial for us if the United States of America falls out with the European Union. But the question arises: why are the Americans doing it this way? They should be doing it calmly. No need to make a fuss, no need to do it loud. Do it calmly and quietly. These are your allies. They did everything you ordered them to do.”
“I would tell Trump: stop these reckless attacks on China. You need to come to an agreement with China. I know China very well. I have seen it developing. You won't stop China. It's not like us, it's not like Russia. It's China. One and a half billion people are determined to defend China to the last. Come to terms with the Chinese. This will benefit the entire planet.”
“I can tell you for sure that Xi Jinping wants neither war nor even the slightest aggravation of relations. He does not need confrontation. This is natural for Chinese people. They want to mind their business, do it in a calm, peaceful manner. They understand that in peace they can achieve big success. And they actually prove successful. They don't tolerate war.”
Russia’s unity with China
“Who brought Russia and China closer together? You [the USA] pushed them towards each other. When Bolton and Pompeo came on a visit here, I asked them directly: What are you doing? Why are you cracking down on Russia? You are pushing Russia towards China. If such a nuclear power, similar to the USA, such a militarily strong state pivots closer to such an economic powerhouse as China, you will not be able to break such a union, such an alliance.”
“But if you put pressure on Russia in a bid to ruin Russia-China relations, it will lead to nowhere. On the contrary, it will lead to greater unity between these states.”
A possible union of the USA and Russia
“The USA is the world’s top country. A high-tech and rich one. It is capable of accomplishing a lot. Russia understands it. And Russia will endeavor to establish very good relations with the United States of America.”
“For the planet to be in balance, for the world to be free from those incomprehensible wars like in the Middle East or Ukraine, this alliance between Russia and the USA is possible and is necessary. An alliance for economic development is possible and important. But it’s a long journey.”
Dispute about rare-earth metals
“Money loves silence. Why all this fuss? That's the first point. The second point is that when this war started, did you strike a deal with Zelensky that he would give up rare earth metals in exchange for arms and support? There was no talk of that. So why would you demand this today?”
“Take, for example, the current situation between the United States and Ukraine regarding rare earth minerals. Look, Russia ranks second in the world for these resources, China ranks first. They have plenty of these rare earths in a more accessible form. Cooperate with Russia and you will receive immense benefits. You will benefit from it even more than Russia. So why are you trying to enter Ukraine through the window when the door to Russia is open! Go and cooperate!”
“As for these rare earth minerals, I raised the matter [in a conversation with the Russian president] by saying it’s strange that Americans are demanding that Ukraine give them the most important things they have. After all, it’s not just about rare earths, but also about natural gas, oil, logistics, ports, and so on. This is a broader matter. And I explained my position to Putin. He remarked that Americans are banging on an open door. Russia has this all and it can reach an agreement with them and cooperate. And then he publicly announced it.”
“I have not discussed these matters with Russia, with Putin. We are going to discuss this matter. But it can most likely be discomforting. If Russia feels that these arrangements [between the USA and Ukraine] go beyond economic relations. If they see it as a purely economic matter that has nothing to do with military purposes, armed forces, then why not? Russia will take it in stride.“
The readiness to press the red button
“I don’t think that Putin was in a situation where he had to consider pressing the red button. We didn’t discuss this issue directly, but we saw where it was all going. Putin never said that he was ready to take extreme steps. I don’t think he was ready. He was as close to pressing the red button as you were in the United States of America, England or France. I know you weren’t ready for that. The same about Putin.”
“You know, on a purely human level I am pleased that Trump was elected exactly at the moment when we started talking about nuclear war. Trump has a big family. Trump has a lot of small grandchildren. He and Melania have a son who is still very young, probably about 20 years old. He's probably the same age as my youngest son. They look alike in some ways. I am glad that he was elected because he has children. I can see that he loves his family very much, his big family, his children and grandchildren. I think that a person who loves his children and his family will never press the red button.”
“There are many other methods, including diplomatic ones or the use of conventional weapons and so on. Oreshnik, for example, and many more. No one is going to press the nuclear button. These weapons are for the situations of extreme threat. That is exactly what the USA will do in such a situation.”
Mutiny of the private military company Wagner and high praise from the CIA and MI6
“Surprisingly, my actions were acknowledged by the West, even by the CIA and MI6, as well as other intelligence agencies. They thought very highly of it. Why? It is not something that you would discuss publicly, but the West acknowledged it. I sensed it then, too. When it began, I got a feeling that Zhenya Prigozhin was eager to get his hands on the nuclear button. And the Westerners believed that there was a possibility that he could overthrow the government and seize nuclear weapons. That is what they thanked me for, privately.”
A guarantee of Europe’s prosperity
“The future of Europe may have been good only in an alliance with Russia. If the Europeans, the European Union established good, normal relations with Russia, at least in the economy, they would prosper… Whether the USA will be great again is a big question. The same is about the European Union. The EU is also an economic competitor to the United States of America. This unity between the European Union and Russia was probably not quite in the interests for the United States of America.”
“It seems to me that despite the incoherent policies of the European Union there are sensible people over there who can preserve the European Union and establish relations with Russia and with us too.”
“As for Europeans, look, we share the same continent. Belarus is the center of Europe. This center is near Polotsk, to be specific. So Belarus is the heart of Europe. Therefore, as we often say, let’s live in harmony. Look around, such beauty is everywhere, and it was created by our hands. Not only ours but also by God. Let's preserve this for our children. This is the main thing for all, and for me as well.”
An upcoming visit to Russia
“[Vladimir Putin] and I will meet in Moscow in a week and we will have a very detailed and thorough talk about all matters. That’s what we agreed on during a phone call: that we will meet and discuss all the matters in detail.”
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