Lukashenko talks about next president of Belarus

The person the Belarusian people elect will be the next president. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during a meeting with representatives of the general public, experts, and mass media titled as the Big Conversation with the President on 9 August, BelTA has learned.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, it is a complicated matter. “The person the Belarusian people elect will be the next president. It is truly so. I have yet to decide what position I will hold then,” he said. Aleksandr Lukashenko noted he is thinking about it. “It is natural. It is not a position for life. I am a human being. Sometimes I want to live a calm life but then I start contemplating things and decide that I will not have a calm life anymore. Because it is that kind of job.”

The president admitted he had envied the Ukrainian ex-president Leonid Kuchma to some extent. “When I met him once I asked him how he was feeling. He said fine. And I saw it was fine indeed. I started thinking about things and saw I wouldn't be able to live like that. I am simply part of this country and this country is part of me. I don't understand how one can retire and do other things. I can't imagine it for now.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that there will be successors. “There is no need for guesswork as for when Lukashenko will go away and the rest. Very soon,” the head of state stated. He clarified one can never be precise even while mentioning specific dates. As an example he mentioned various plans of the opposition concerning Freedom Day and other things.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also expressed an opinion regarding an alternative outcome of the election. “I was asked: if you don't run for presidency, what will happen if someone else is elected president? I will do everything to organize an objective election. If someone else gets elected, it means our nation has to live through what Georgia and Ukraine have been through. Since it doesn't learn from someone else's mistakes, then it has to go through this stage,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. He stressed that the nation does not deserve it.