MINSK, 31 March (BelTA) – “We feel the chill of a war that is no longer cold.” These words were said by our president seven years ago. By historical standards, this is not a long time. But over these seven years, humanity has moved much closer to a war that is no longer cold. In the new episode of BelTA’s YouTube project “How It Was”, we recall the most significant events of 2018.
One of these events was the visit of the presidents of Germany and Austria to Belarus. Why was it significant? At least because it is almost impossible to imagine such a thing now, seven years later. But in 2018, the West was more friendly towards our country that has not closed itself off from other states then or now.
Together with Aleksandr Lukashenko, the presidents of Germany and Austria visited the Trostenets Memorial Complex and attended a rally to commemorate the victims of Nazism. Back then, the West still remembered that the victims of Nazism were our common pain. A message of Polish President Andrzej Duda was read out at the commemorative rally, although he has never particularly liked our country and our leadership.
“Having a unique opportunity to know the truth about the war from eyewitness accounts, the main thing that we must do is to preserve this truth, to prevent the repeat of the terrible past. After all, history has cruelly shown that you should never ignore evil, even if it exists as an idea. Its transformation into a real threat is a matter of time”.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also called for strengthening international security through mutual trust and inclusive dialogue: “It doesn't matter who hosts this dialogue. It can be held within the framework of an existing or new organization. We really need this dialogue. And we all understand this. We feel the chill of the Cold War. We need to stop.”
The SCO Heads of State Council met in China’s Qingdao in June 2018. The Belarusian leader delivered a speech there. Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke about the organization’s important role in ensuring multilateral security. Who would have thought back then that in seven years Belarus would become a full member of the SCO.
Many interesting things were also going on inside the country. Belarusian gymnasts got a new home base - the Palace of Gymnastics in Minsk. The renovated Dynamo Stadium was also commissioned there. Aleksandr Lukashenko spent a lot of time in his home town; after all, 2018 was the Year of Native Land. The president also made time for his former teachers – the meeting with them was truly warm and friendly.
Of course, these are far from all the bright, interesting and memorable events of 2018. Find out more in the new episode of our YouTube project “How it was: DOC”.
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