Lukashenko: “We are brothers with Russia, but we want to live in our own house”

Belarus has always been and remains Russia’s closest ally. It has never made any efforts to come closer to the West, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said addressing the parliament and the people today, on April 29.

“Russian liberals, including in the Russian leadership, widely believe that Belarus tends to come closer to the West. Get this out of your mind, people and leadership of Russia. We have always been and will always stay with Russia,” Lukashenko said.

“Let us have our own stand and point of view,” he went on. “If I ran away after Crimea, will there be a negotiation platform here (in Minsk)? Never,” the president said. “There are forces in Russia that seek to restrict the influence of the Byelorussian model, Lukashenko on the processes in Russia. We are a sovereign state. We are brothers with Russia, but we want to live in our own house,” Lukashenko said.

As for the statements suggesting that by participating in the military parade of May 9 in Minsk he wants to favor the West,” Lukashenko said: “Nonsense. We have agreed that we will have our own military parade. We will visit Moscow on May 8 to show that we are part of ‘the Russian world’.”