Details of Lukashenko-Putin lengthy talks in Kremlin revealed

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Belarus and Russia will able to overcome the pressure of Western sanctions by teaming up with allies. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement as he met with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on 11 March, BelTA has learned.

The meeting of the heads of state lasted for over five hours and proceeded in various formats. After making a number of statements for the cameras Aleksandr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin went to talk in private. The meeting was interrupted when the two presidents had to make an international phone call together. The negotiations continued after that in the working dinner format. Then the heads of state returned to the Russian president’s office.

At the very beginning of the meeting Vladimir Putin congratulated Aleksandr Lukashenko on the successful organization of the referendum on amending and expanding Belarus’ Constitution. Vladimir Putin mentioned the high voter turnout and support of Belarusian citizens.

In turn, Aleksandr Lukashenko said the voter turnout during the referendum was higher than the figure registered during the latest presidential election by one percent and a half.

The Russian head of state stressed: “I think that the political process that you have initiated, the dialogue that you are conducting with the people is extremely important in order to make the situation stable and sustainable. Only in this situation can we talk about economic development.”

Plans to deal with the pressure of sanctions

Concerted actions in conditions of tough Western sanctions were originally on the agenda of the meeting. The challenges Belarus and Russia have been facing recently are not simple but Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced they can be overcome. When asked whether Belarus and Russia will be able to endure the sanctions, the head of state told reporters before entering the Kremlin: “We will absolutely endure! To spite the enemies.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko formulated a specific plan during the meeting with Vladimir Putin.

The Belarus president said: “You have always helped your allies. You helped Kazakhstan. You helped everybody. You've opened the market for some. I won't name them as they do not like it. Well, we need to rally together in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, in the Eurasian Economic Union. After all, everybody said we should stand together. Well, let's do it. And trust me, once we also add these markets, we will forget we have sanctions in a month. Therefore, I am making this proposal (and I think you will support me): let’s get the CSTO and the EAEU together in Moscow, sit down at the negotiating table and agree on what we sell to each other. We also need to work out our common economic policy.”

"Therefore, I came to Moscow in good spirits, confident that we will fare better than we did after the collapse of the USSR and even during the Soviet Union period. The situation is not that bad to stress out over some events. What we need is time. The big is seen from a distance," the Belarusian leader added.

Time of opportunities and piggery of the West

Aleksandr Lukashenko described the pressure of sanctions as a time of opportunities. He said: “I’ve told you over the phone more than once: the Russian Federation and Belarus always have to deal with sanctions. Today’s are larger but we are already accustomed to this piggery of the West, I beg your pardon. Why piggery? Because all of it is illegitimate as they are fond of saying. All of it is illegal, in violation of all the international agreements and treaties. This is why I say one more time: it is simply piggery from my point of view. I’ve already had a fair share of it. And you are fed up with it, too.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced that Belarus and Russia have everything in order to develop their economy in the current conditions: “We can do without [Western partners]. We have everything in place to live and work normally.”

“This is the time of opportunities. If we get our bearings, believe me, in six months or by the end of the year people will forget that this happened. From the point of view of the economy. And there is no need to doubt whether or not we will handle the sanctions... Listen, we have survived them many times. We need to restructure our economy,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

Vladimir Putin agreed with Aleksandr Lukashenko. “Attempts to limit and restrain our growth have always been made and are being made now. Certainly on a larger scale at present, it is obvious. But I am sure that we will overcome these difficulties and will acquire more competencies, more opportunities to be self-reliant and independent. In the end it will benefit us, as it was in previous years,” Vladimir Putin said. “A massive strike against the economy is being carried out now. But the practice of recent years indicates that we’ve gained new competences and regained old ones at a new technological level in the areas affected by Western sanctions. It’s all about work. We’ve certainly become stronger in this regard.”

He remarked that the current period of sanctions is a time of opportunities for further movement towards stronger technological and economic sovereignty. “You are absolutely right: the Soviet Union definitely lived all the time with sanctions, it grew and achieved colossal accomplishments. The sanctions the Soviet Union experienced stayed in place as sanctions against Russia even after 1990. The sanctions then became part of the modern history. Those are restrictions in the area of high technologies. All of it happened and it is so,” the Russian leader added.

By the way, Belarus-Russia trade and economic cooperation develops in a positive way. “Last year the bilateral trade soared by more than 34%,” Vladimir Putin remarked.

About clean conscience and preparations to attack Belarus

The situation in the region and in Ukraine where Russia is conducting a special military operation was also high on the agenda of the meeting.

"I will certainly inform you about the situation with regard to Ukraine, first of all, about the negotiations, which are held on an almost daily basis. There is certain positive progress there as negotiators on our side tell me," Vladimir Putin said at the beginning of the meeting.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that more and more people come to understand the real situation and the essence of what is going: “We did not attack them. We did not! It was preventive. The Armed Forces of Ukraine began to shoot back when we were at your place two days before. We were in a helicopter [during Aleksandr Lukashenko’s previous visit to the Russian Federation on 18 February after negotiations in the Kremlin the heads of state went to a countryside complex where they continued talking in an informal setting]. We got regular updates. It was them who started doing it. I will show you the place from where the attack on Belarus was being prepared. Had there not been a preventive strike on the positions (four positions, I will show them now, I have brought the map) six hours before the operation, they would have attacked the troops of Belarus and Russia, who were at the military drills,” the president of Belarus said.

“Therefore, it was not us who unleashed this war. Our conscience is clear. It is good that they started it. Biological weapons, the largest nuclear power plants... And all this was ready for blowing up,” the Belarusian leader said.

“Now we see what is happening in Chernobyl. You asked me to supply electricity, but they [in Ukraine] don’t need it. They push back come hell or high water. We supplied electricity to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by force, as I’d promised,” the president said.

Vladimir Putin thanked Aleksandr Lukashenko for that.

Aleksandr Lukashenko continued: “This is why people are beginning to understand little by little what is what and who is right. Had we not done it a day before, believe me, we would have incurred huge losses in a few days. I would like to reiterate: they were preparing to attack not only Donbass. They were in position to strike at Belarus.”

“So there is no need to make excuses to anyone. I see how some people in Belarus and Russia are acting: they are questioning whether it was right. They would have suffered more than in the middle of the last century, when these fascists were moving towards us,” the Belarusian leader said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also expressed concerns about actions of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. He said: “These foreign mercenaries are moving along Belarus’ border towards the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Three things. They want to cut off lines of march of Russian troops, to backstab them as I’ve said. Second, they want to attack positions of the troops staying in our country after the Belarusian-Russian army exercise. And they still hope we will get involved in this slaughter so that we would leave the western flank unprotected.”

“They are not that simple. And you and I have yet to figure out what they want to do in Chernobyl,” the Belarusian leader added.