President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko congratulated the Russian colleague Vladimir Putin with the Day of Unity of Nations. In his congratulations, he complained that both countries are exposed to unprecedented external pressure, RIA Novosti reports.
In this regard, Lukashenko proposed to deepen integration within the framework of the Allied State.
“In this setting, consolidation on all sites of the Allied State allows us to promptly and effectively respond to the entire spectrum of modern challenges and threats, reliably guarantees security and strategic stability in the region,” said Lukashenko.
According to him, in the deepening of integration “Based on the principles of equality and independence of the two states” interested “both Russians and Belarusians.” He noted that in 2020 “We once again were convinced how important the possibilities that are perceived by many as a given is.
Earlier, Lukashenko rejected the possibility of joining Belarus into Russia. He stated that Belarusians live “in their apartment”, although she is small compared to a huge Russia. “And we are a sovereign and independent state. Today, the world has changed so much that conversations that Belarus should enter into Russia or Russia should enter into Belarus, or we can somehow merge, creating uniform controls … The world has changed so much that it would just be stupid to even work in this direction. And secondly, it is absolutely not needed, “he said.
All 2019 and the first half of the 2020, before the presidential elections, which became the impetus for the beginning of mass protests in Belarus, Lukashenko repeatedly stated the need to conduct multi-vector policies and build an independent country. He regularly complained about the “Imperial Spirits” of Russia, criticizing the project of integration within the framework of the Allied State.