Lukashenka: Parting from Russia is my Political Death

On the day when Russian Prime Minister stated that Belarus should trade off its independence for money support, Lukashenka stated that he is ready to sacrifice anything "so that it would be beneficial primarily for a Russian man".

The Belarusian leader stated that he "had never turned left or right, face to America and back on Russia".

"Unlike the leadership of Russia, Lukashenka held a referendum on our relations with the Russian Federation. Departing from the policy of rapprochement with Russia means a "political death" for Lukashenka", he said in Minsk at the meeting with the delegation of Russia’s Volga Federal District headed by the Russian president's envoy to the Volga Federal District, Grigory Rapota, Interfax informs.

The Belarusian leader underlined that "Belarus has never turned left or right, either to the side of America or its back to Russia". "We do not cause any problems to Russia, or to the Baltic states, to Poland or Ukraine, the European Union or America," Lukashenka said.

That is why, as said by him, "Russia should understand that we are a state, and should primarily establish normal relations with neighbours". "So they shouldn’t nervously react to our relations with Ukraine with which we have a huge turnover," the ruler noted.

As said by Lukashenka, "they are meeting us halfway. Ukraine is ready to sell us electricity. We sell our goods to them too, we create joint ventures". That is why he offered "to use good relations with Belarus with Ukraine for the good of Russia, among other things".

Besides, the Belarusian ruler called upon the Russian side "not to react nervously to our relations with the European Union". "You shouldn’t suspect us of turning away from Russia too much. We have never turned away anywhere, and won’t turn away. We would make ten steps towards Russia for one step of Russia in the direction of Belarus", Lukashenka underlined.

Meanwhile, he said: "I’ll say frankly: we won’t be deaf and dumb when they would start calling names to us too much, spurn us, do harm… We will respond to that". "We haven’t deserved that from our closest brothers, when pressure is exerted on us, when they start to create official red tape for us. What is more, I am speaking about that honestly and frankly. I am speaking about that frankly, as we do not have access to your mass media space," the Belarusian president noted.

That is why, Lukashenka states, he has to invite Russian journalists to Belarus and answer their pointed questions. "And you shouldn’t be offended by that. I haven’t said anything new," he stated.

As said by him, "we are one nation absolutely". "We want our elder brother, a Russian, treat us as a younger brother. They can rebuke us sometimes, but never let down, never hurt us, never pressurize or reproach us that we are a burden, a kettle bell on their legs", Lukashenka said.

"We are ready to put in the coin box of our relations as much as it would be profitable for Russians primarily, and then it would be even more profitable for us," the dictator noted.

We remind that during an annual question-to-answer session with Russian citizens today, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s aid to Belarus would depend on the degree of political integration between the two countries in a "union state".

"There are different ways of cooperation (between the two countries), but the Belarusian leadership wants to get more. It is possible, but I strongly believe this should depend on the degree of political integration between the two countries in a union state," Putin said.

"The deeper this integration, the greater the possibility we can move to internal Russian prices, including prices of energy," the Russian PM stressed.