Belarusian dictator spat upon Europe again
- 20.08.2009, 15:37
Alyaksandr Lukashenka said he wasn’t going to release political prisoners and hold free elections.
“Europe should understand that is it necessary to respect each other if they want to build good relations with Belarus,” Lukashenka said during his visit to the Vitsebsk region.
“We are ready for a dialogue with Europe on all issues. This dialogue seems to be going well,” Lukashenka said. He added: “I’ll tell about a problem. If they make conditions for as and think that Lukashenka won’t have another way out, as Russia used to think we had bad relations with Russia, they will fail.” “We have good, excellent relations with Russia. Yes, we have problems. But only those who do nothing have no problems,” the Belarusian ruler said.
He noted in this relation: “If someone thinks our relations with Russia have spoilt, and Lukashenka will release all criminals from prisons and ruin the legislation if he is pressed, it is a mistake!”
“We are ready to wok both with Europeans and Americans on an equal mutually advantageous basis. But if West counts to use different schemes to press Lukashenka and pass this power to the opposition, they will fail,” Lukashenka told.
“I want a sincere, fair, honest dialogue with Europe. They should make us bow. We will survive. We’ll go to dugouts, but will preserve sovereignty and normal living,” Lukashenka said.
We remind that a probation period the European Union gave to the Belarusian authorities expires in November. Depending on the democracy situation in Belarus, it will be decided in November whether the EU sanctions on the Belarusian regime to be prolonged or lifted. The Belarusian authorities should release political prisoners, stop repressions against opposition, give freedom to the mass media and NGOs, change the Electoral Code to carry out free and democratic elections in the country. None of these conditions has been fulfilled so far.
Visit to Sochi to Medvedev planned for next week
Alyaksandr Lukashenka plans to meet with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi next week and discuss a range of bilateral relations, among them serious problems.
“We arranged with the Russian president in Kyrgyzstan to put serious issues on the agenda and discuss them. Mr Dmitry suggested meeting in Sochi,” the Belarusian ruler said in an answer to Interfax’s question during his working visit to the Vitsebsk region.
“I think we will have the meeting next week and we will discuss a wide range of difficult issues that are not solved,” Lukashenka said.
The Belarusian ruler expressed his wish: “let’s do what we’ve arranged. If we have reached agreements, they should be implemented. In this case, there won’t be rumours and insinuations against the way Lukashenka has chosen,” the head of state noted.
“We must reach agreements and follow them,” he emphasized.
We remind that it became known yesterday that the large-scale military exercises of the Collective Rapid Response Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) “Cooperation 2009” were delayed. However, not all CSTO member-states signed the Agreement on CRRF creation in Moscow on June 14 – Belarus ignored the participation in the document. Minsk refused to sign the agreement due to the so called milk war between Russia and Belarus. Nevertheless, all necessary agreements on the CRRF were reached and Dmitry Medvedev said Belarus would join the document later.