MINSK, 12 January (BelTA) – Some journalists fly thousands of kilometers to take part in press conferences of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, and it would be wrong not to give them the opportunity to ask a question, press secretary for the Belarusian president Natalya Eismont said in the latest episode of the documentary series Time Chose Us by the Belarus 1 TV channel , BelTA reports.
The Big Conversation with the President that was held in February 2017 became the longest press conference given by the Belarusian leader - it lasted 7 hours and 21 minutes.
“Many people ask: why so long? This is not the most usual format for world leaders. We stick to the following approach to such press conferences: we strive for the most diverse composition of participants and choose the most sharp-tongued journalists. We want this conversation to be a hard-talk,” said Natalya Eismont.
Aleksandr Lukashenko's press secretary noted that journalists from all over the world are invited to attend such press events. These journalists come not only from the former Soviet republics, but also from Western countries.
“When I am asked about the duration of such events, I always respond: a journalist flies thousands of kilometers to attend a president's event with his one and only question. How can we not give him the opportunity to ask this question? Plus, naturally, our president is a very seasoned speaker. He can read the room very well, he understands the importance of such events. He has always believed that it is important to be listened to and to be heard,” Natalya Eismont emphasized.
The Belarusian leader's press secretary assured that if, after four or five hours of the press conference, someone in the room still has questions, then no matter how tired he is, the president will answer them.
“A new feature was introduced for the 2017 press conference. On the eve of it, we asked Belarusians and people from other countries to send their questions online. We analyzed them, selected the most popular and interesting ones, and the president answered them. That's why it lasted 7 hours and 20 minutes, and not because someone wants to talk for such a long time without a break. This is a very difficult, but very important job,” Natalya Eismont added.
You can learn more about the big events of our country's history in BelTA's YouTube project How It Was.
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