Lukashenko on Belarus's non-market path and thanks Trump for openness

Alexander Lukashenko recalled how he was once called a communist in the post-Soviet space for criticizing the full transition to a market economy as envisioned in the West. 'Market, competition, and so on… Just plunge everyone into this market, and they will crawl out,' the President quoted the calls at the time. 'And they were plunging us into this market, knowing we wouldn't withstand their competition and that everything would become theirs.'

This path was unacceptable for Belarus. 'We are not Americans who were imposing the market on us. We don't print money like they do—the dollars that will be needed worldwide tomorrow. You know their advantages: they achieved certain results during wars and other things,' the Head of State noted.

'Thank you, Donald Trump. He is a more open politician, excessively open. Now we understand what kind of policy this is. Now you understand what they wanted from us? Oil, money… Bomb if there's no oil. He openly says Venezuela itself is useless to him—he needs the oil. I've long understood this. I couldn't say it publicly,' the President emphasized.

As an example of a wise and prudent state development model, Alexander Lukashenko cited China, where, unlike in post-Soviet countries, the Communist Party and the country's governance system were not destroyed but developed. The President of Belarus particularly highlighted the role of China's President Xi Jinping in this process, noting that he combined past experience with the present to deliver results. 'How wisely the Chinese acted. We must study this experience—it produces results,' the Head of State said.