Photo by president.gov.by
While meeting with Ambassador Mikhail Babich in Minsk on Wednesday, Mr . Lukashenka said that he understood Russia’s concerns about whether Belarus could drift away from its orbit. «If I were a Russian leader I would behave in the same way exactly and worry about which side Belarus would join,» he said, according to the presidential press office.
Mr. Lukashenka stressed that he would make no foreign-policy U-turns as a «president who once turned away from fierce nationalism and other anti-Russian issues by holding a referendum in Belarus.» «And not just a majority but an overwhelming majority of our population voted for a union of Belarus and Russia,» he said.
The people of Belarus sees Russia as a close ally that will always come to its aid if necessary, said Mr. Lukashenka. «And we will reciprocate the Russian Federation’s attitude,» he said.
«One thing that is inviolate — and you know that — is that we are a sovereign and independent country,» he said, adding that Russia’s former leadership had helped Belarus gain independence in the early 1990s.
«The current leadership [of Russia] declared policy continuity,» he said. «It’s simply ridiculous to speak about Belarus’ incorporation by Russia in the 21st century. And I have never heard that from the incumbent president of Russia or the former, first president of Russia.»
Mr. Lukashenka said that he would like Mr. Babich’s tenure to «become something that both my and your children will be proud of.»
Mr. Babich, for his part, said that the frequency of meetings between the two countries’ leaders in the past six weeks «is keeping us on our toes.» «We try to give real substance to this pace,» he said.
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