Lukashenko held a meeting with representatives of different nationalities living in Belarus

"I have to meet a lot of different people. But since Soviet times, I have not been used to dividing them by nationality. It doesn't matter to me where anyone was born. I value decency, kindness, and hard work in people first of all. And Belarusians are deprived of a sense of national superiority, because they know what it means to fight for their culture and faith," Alexander Lukashenko stressed.

The President drew attention to the fact that there is no talk of a titular nation in Belarusian society, Belarusians are alien to the experience of dividing by nationality into citizens and non-citizens, like some neighbors.

"The idea of national unity permeates our entire history. From time immemorial, people who fled religious wars, civil strife, and persecution have found shelter here. And in the days of hard times, they united with the local population, rebuffed the enemy, won and jointly built their Belarusian happiness. This is the key to understanding the cipher of life on our land - ours and yours," the Head of State said.

Alexander Lukashenko noted that it is no coincidence that the current meeting is taking place on the eve of the youngest, but very significant state holiday - National Unity Day.

"Maintaining interethnic peace is one of the priorities of state policy, and we are proud of it. The Constitution of our country guarantees foreign citizens and stateless persons the same rights and freedoms as citizens of our country," the President stressed. "Everyone has the right to preserve their national identity, and insulting national dignity is prosecuted by law."

"Representatives of 156 nationalities work in peace and harmony in the spirit of good neighborliness on the Belarusian land, create families and raise children. Here they all become ours, and even mine, as I often say, Russians, Ukrainians, Poles. It was so, it is so and it will always be so," the Belarusian leader said.