Lukashenko: Russia Exerts Pressure on Belarus Via “Weapons of Mass Destruction” :: Charter'97 :: News

Russia is trying to pressurize Belarus through the “weapons of mass destruction”, that is mass media, said the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko on June 30 in an interview to the three domestic state-owned TV channels – BT, ONT and CTV.

The incumbent state leader complained that Russia doesn’t value enough pro-Russian tendencies, which are underway in Belarus. Instead, he said, Russia is exerting pressure on our country not without “weapons of mass destruction” – that is mass media outlets. “Mass media is the most powerful weapon of today. That’s an informational war, which has never stopped. They aren’t ready to make any concessions to us, though awaiting concessions on our part. They don’t feel like violating their Constitution, you know. But they somehow keep in oblivion the fact that we are also a free country and nation and therefore equal concessions must be made on both ends.”

When building the union, said Lukashenko, one must help each other, as they do it in the European Union. “They don’t have big and small there, but everyone’s voice is heard. But Russia doesn’t like that idea. And so they start dividing “flies and cutlets” in economy, offering us to split the country into seven constituent parts and attach them all to the Russian Federation. But how can we accept those plans of theirs? And, at seeing that, they do their best to exert pressure on Lukashenko, but always to no avail”.

“And the geographic location is quite attractive to them too – the center of Europe. No matter how they travel to Europe – by land or air – they all the same cross Belarus. And our companies are also fine. So they want to take them over and privatize. We don’t object to that. But let them pay well first. They refuse. That’s the complex of reasons behind the exertion of pressure on our country and its president”.

“However, we are quite used to that. And it matters not to me that we are many times smaller than our brotherly neighbor – the Russian Federation. We will not tolerate anyone, be it from West or East, dictating his will upon us, contrary to the interests of our country and nation”.