The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has admitted there “really is” a dictatorship in his country, and it is one of “stability, security, order, kindness and hospitality.”
Lukashenko made the comments on Saturday at a ceremony honoring farmers in the country’s Grodno Region. Speaking about Western sanctions imposed on Belarus, he recalled that in July, Minsk expanded its visa-free regime to include the citizens of 35 European countries, allowing more Westerners to see the country for themselves.
“Already about a million people have been able to see with their own eyes that there really is a dictatorship in Belarus,” he said, according to Belta news agency. He clarified that this is “a dictatorship of stability, security, order, kindness and hospitality. A dictatorship of justice.”
Lukashenko said that foreigners were “gladly” visiting Belarus “despite the lies” being spread about the country in the West. Visitors see that it is a “clean, safe and comfortable country,” he added.
The Belarusian leader has denied accusations of corruption by foreign critics and announced in February that he would seek a seventh term in office in the country’s presidential election in January. He has previously said he would end his 30 years in power “once you [the people] tell me ‘enough’ in some form” and as long as there was a successor “who would not betray” the country’s interests.
Belarus has been under Western sanctions for years over alleged human rights violations. One of Russia’s closest allies, the country has also faced harsh new restrictions imposed by the US and EU over the Ukraine conflict. While Belarus is not directly involved in fighting, Minsk allowed Moscow to use its territory in February 2022 when Russia resorted to military action against Kiev.
The sanctions cover a range of economic sectors, including a ban on the transfer of military technology and dual-use goods to the country. EU companies are also banned from providing insurance services to Belarusian authorities and Minsk has had its access to EU financial markets limited. Belarus has denounced the sanctions as illegal and unjustified.
Lukashenko has insisted that Ukraine “will not prevail” on the battlefield and that the West “realizes this now,” urging Kiev’s biggest backers to stop referring to Russia as the sole culprit in the conflict and to focus on diplomacy instead.
He has also expressed doubt that either of the US presidential election candidates, Trump or Harris, will do much to end the fighting, calling them both “idiots.”
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