Lukashenko against severing ties with EU

The EU countries are Belarus' neighbors and we should not sever contacts with them, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he talked to the labor collective of Minsk National Airport, BelTA has learned.

“Now we make money primarily in the East: in Russia, China. But we must not discard contacts with the high-tech West. They are nearby, the European Union is our neighbor. And we should maintain contacts with them. We are ready for this, but there should be due consideration for our interests. Believe me, the time will come (using your professional terms, I would say that now we are going through the period of turbulence), and in 2024-2025 there will be serious changes in the world,” the head of state said.

Back at the solemn meeting on the occasion of Independence Day, Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to suggest a good neighborliness and peace plan to the Western neighbors.

“And we need to talk to the Poles. I told the prime minister to contact them. If they want, we can talk, patch up our relations. We are neighbors, and this is something you cannot choose, neighbors are given by God. They are having parliamentary elections on 15 October, so they are trying to whip up tensions in order to prove that arming and re-arming the country was the right thing to do. Therefore, before 15 October, they are unlikely to make any significant steps that will benefit them and us. They demand and ask a lot from us, but we canBelTA not agree to this, because it is contrary to our interests,” the president stressed.

He added that it was not Poland's decision to rock the boat in the region - Poland is being pushed to do so by the United States. “The Americans have staked on Poland. But the Poles are not stupid people. We are related people, the Slavs. They understand everything perfectly. Let's wait and see. We are open for cooperation,” the head of state said.