Minsk, 1 July 2022 (TDI): Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov met the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko on Thursday in Minsk.
🇷🇺🇧🇾🤝 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov & President of Belarus Alexander #Lukashenko held a meeting in Minsk.#RussiaBelarus pic.twitter.com/I5buOiHHut
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) June 30, 2022
During the meeting, the Russian Foreign Minister initially conveyed greetings to Lukashenko from the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin even though both Presidents held a meeting recently.
The Belarusian President pointed out that they “get from Russia everything a sovereign and independent state may need”.
He noted that as close people they have had debates and Lavrov agreeably stated that the truth emerges from disagreement.
President Lukashenko highlighted that Russia and Belarus enjoy a relationship that is special at the moment.
“We live in a challenging time, Sergey Viktorovich. When they fail to heed to diplomats they will have to listen to other people. We are for diplomatic means in the first place. But what can we do at a time of a hybrid? First they started with mass media. Then they silenced diplomats. None of international organizations, including the main one, are effective any longer. What can we do? We have to defend ourselves, to fight back,” Lukashenko said.
As Lavrov recalled the seizure of Russian assets by the West, Lukashenko added that they have seized their money, and imposed sanctions.
“They have already declared an economic war. What does transit closure mean? And everyone is shouting about some Suwalki corridor. Listen, you and I don’t talk about it but they shout about it. What are they hinting at?,” the Belarusian President said.
The President also emphasized that both Belarus and Russia have enough forces and assets to deliver cargoes to Kaliningrad.
Additionally, Lavrov mentioned that the Alternative for Germany political party created a non-governmental organization to combat Russophobia and that it is already starting to appear in the public sphere.
In light of the situation in Ukraine, President Lukashenko explained that they have been left without an option.
“There was a suggestion [for the collective West] to discuss security in the run-up to the special operation [in Ukraine] and a proposal to sign agreements, to get together at the negotiating table and so on, without operations and wars, without shooting. They rejected it. It is their choice,” Lukashenko said.
In accordance, the Foreign Minister agreed with Lukashenko. Lavrov commented on the recent NATO summit. Specifically that the alliance declared Russia a “direct threat” and said China posed “serious challenges”.
“They reaffirmed their open door policy and the decision passed at the 2008 Bucharest Summit to welcome Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership,” Lavrov added.
