MINSK, 31 January (BelTA) – Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova told the ONT TV channel why Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked her personally, BelTA has learned.
“The question was whether or not to participate in the 2020 election. Being then the head of the Belarus President Administration I clearly saw that at that time there was no other person who would be able to take the burden of responsibility for his country, for his people. When such a decision was taken [to run for the top job], I sincerely supported it. Even today I ask myself: if not for our president in 2020, would our country still exist? This is a big question,” Natalya Kochanova said.
Answering questions of those invited to attend the annual Address to Belarusian People and the National Assembly, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the decision to run for presidency during the latest presidential election was the right one. Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Thank god, I didn't walk away from the latest presidential election. Kochanova should be credited for it. When we gathered, I contemplated not running for presidency and said I just wanted to live in peace.”
The Belarusian leader reminded: “I decided to run for presidency in order to avoid your blame later on as Kochanova said. I said if the country goes upside down and something goes wrong, you will not forgive my walking away from this election. So I went for the presidential seat. I didn't campaign. I met with activists and told them what's going on. I told them to go and tell people how we are going to live later on.”
