Lukashenko: Belarus-Russia relations have finally become open and fair

“We have known each other for a very long time and we are like-minded people. Yet, this is our first official meeting. This is kind of odd. But I think a good beginning is half the battle. We will catch up if we have missed something. However, as we see today, we can hardly blame ourselves for anything. The relations between Belarus and Russia are finally developing in an open and honest way,” the head of state said.

The president also noted that ‘it feels that the bilateral relations are free from hidden underlying movements'. “We are very happy about this. They say that some external force had an impact on us. But something always has an impact us from the outside, we also have an impact on someone. This is not the point. The point is that we understand that we must preserve the centuries-long civilization that still exists in our common fatherland. If we fail to do this, we will destroy this civilization. The West rants and raves discussing these goals of ours, but these goals remain,” the head of state emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko explained that by the shared civilization he means Belarus and Russia where people of different ethnicities have co-existed peacefully. "This is the essence of our civilization. We have never oppressed anyone and will never do, unlike them," the president said. In his opinion, Ukraine is part of this civilization, too. The Belarusian leader expressed confidence that the Ukrainian people "will have their say and reverse the situation" back to how it always was.