'I sat out, but I won't just leave': Lukashenko spoke about the situation in Belarus, Putin and Poroshenko

The President of Belarus in an interview with Russian state TV channels said that if his power falls, problems could begin in Russia itself. The main topic of conversation was the situation in Belarus, opposition protests against election fraud and repression against opponents of the president, writes Air force.

Photo: Shutterstock

Alexander Lukashenko gave an interview to the editor-in-chief of Russia Today Margarita Simonyan, the correspondent of Channel One Anton Vernitsky, the editor-in-chief of radio "Moscow Speaking" Roman Babayan and the presenter of "Russia-1" Evgeny Rozhkov.

The conversation between the president and journalists is given out in certain portions, and recently Lukashenko's press service published two episodes in which they talk about Vladimir Putin and the ex-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

Russia will fall for Belarus

“You know what we have come to with the Russian leadership - if Belarus collapses today, then Russia will be next,” Lukashenko said.

For everything that is bad in his country, he blamed globalization, the Internet and Telegram channels.

Because of them, Russia will allegedly get problems if Lukashenka does not stay in his chair.

“I talked with my older brother, Putin. I warned him that this could not be resisted. How to counter Telegram channels? Do you have the ability to block? No, even those who invented this whole web - the Americans,” Lukashenko insists.

At the same time, he said from his own experience that even turning off the Internet would not help fight them.

“I would act like Poroshenko”

Separately, Lukashenka reflected on his ability to leave power. And he hinted that he could do this if he had a fortune like the fifth president of Ukraine.

“If I had several billions in my pocket, I would have acted like Poroshenko. Unlikely, but sometimes I think so. But I don’t have these billions,” complained Alexander Lukashenko.

Petro Poroshenko lost the presidential elections in spring 2019 to Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the second round of elections.

Poroshenko is one of the richest businessmen in Ukraine. He owns a number of assets and the world's most famous confectionery corporation, Roshen.

After losing the election, Poroshenko heads the opposition party European Solidarity and is a member of parliament.

Lukashenko is convinced that if he left power now, “the whole system would collapse and Belarus would follow suit.”

“Someday I will leave, but I will not allow them to destroy what we have created with generations of people,” Lukashenko added.

According to official data, Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential elections on August 9 with a score of over 80%. The data of parallel calculations indicate that Lukashenko could have lost to the oppositionist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya by a huge lag. A few days after the elections, she was forced to leave the country.

Until now, hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets of the country to protest against the actions of the authorities.

On the subject: Former head of the European Council: Lukashenko wanted to create and lead the union of Ukraine and Belarus

“I sat out a little, but...”

In an interview, Lukashenko, who has single-handedly ruled the country for a quarter of a century, agreed that he “may have overstayed his welcome a little.” True, in this case this does not mean at all that Lukashenko is ready to leave his post, writes Air force.

“Yes, perhaps I overstayed my welcome a little. Perhaps I am shown not only from the TV, but also from the iron and kettle. But only I can protect Belarus now,” he told Russian journalists. “I won’t just leave.” I spent a quarter of a century developing Belarus. I won’t just give it all up. Besides, if I leave, my supporters will be slaughtered!”

He did not specify who exactly now protects Belarus, which for several weeks in a row has been going to mass protests, demanding new elections and the resignation of Lukashenka himself.

The President of Belarus added that he is ready to reform the Constitution, after which he “does not rule out” holding early presidential elections.

Lukashenko has talked about changing the Constitution before. Then he claimed that he had “taken control” and wanted to leave to his successor the Constitution in which powers would be redistributed between the branches of government. True, he said this more than a year ago, and during this time work on the new text of the basic law has not progressed very far. In June 2020, Lukashenko said that it was possible to prepare a new Constitution in two years.

Kolesnikova was “detained correctly”

Lukashenka also commented on the situation with the oppositionist Maria Kolesnikova. Member of the Presidium of the Coordination Council Kolesnikova disappeared on the morning of Monday, September 7, nothing was known about her whereabouts for a long time, but on the morning of Tuesday, September 8, the state departments of Belarus began to report that Kolesnikova allegedly tried to illegally leave the territory of the republic, she was detained at the border ...

At the same time, Interfax-Ukraine sources reported that they tried to force Kolesnikova out of the territory of Belarus, but to prevent this from happening, she tore up her passport herself.

The version of Interfax sources is largely confirmed by other stories that happened to opposition leaders. In a similar way, for example, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a presidential candidate, was taken out of the country.

Tikhanovska herself had also repeatedly said before that that she was not going to leave the country, but her associates explained that she was simply not given a choice. Tikhanovskaya's colleague Olga Kovalkova was removed from the country in a similar way.

Lukashenko said during an interview that Kolesnikova allegedly wanted to escape to Ukraine, where her sister lives.

“She was detained correctly,” Lukashenko said.

Maria Kolesnikova’s father, after Lukashenko’s words, said that his daughter never wanted to run away to Ukraine or anywhere else: “Maria always repeated: “Dad, no matter what happens, I will be in Belarus.” This was her principled position.” Alexander Kolesnikov said that there is still no contact with his daughter.

“There were excesses, but...”

Journalists asked Lukashenka about harsh detentions at protests after the elections.

According to Yevgeny Rozhkov, a VGTRK correspondent, Lukashenko said that the riot police cannot be blamed “because they protected the country from the blitzkrieg.”

“About the beating, of course, they also asked what it was, they also beat journalists. He said that these were the first hot emotions of that time. The riot police cannot be blamed here, he said, because they protected the country from the blitzkrieg. and indeed, they defended the country then, this is his real opinion. But there were excessive fights [with the use of force], and he will deal with everyone, he promised us that. Especially with cases of beating of journalists, including Russian ones,” Rozhkov said.

Those detained at protests in Belarus were subjected to brutal treatment in paddy wagons, prisons and police stations. One of the detainees later told the BBC Russian Service: “They [the security forces] put a grenade in my pants and ran away. Then they came back and said that I was ****** [insolent], and they started beating me again. They hit me in the groin, hit me in the face, and ordered me to carry my backpack in my teeth. While we were walking to the paddy wagon, they continued to hit me in the face with their hands. If I threw my backpack, they beat me. My teeth are chipped now.”

Another detainee stated: “For an hour and a half we stood with our heads bowed on our knees in front of a concrete fence. There were stones there, my knees are still all blue. If someone was indignant, they beat them. One man shouted that he was an FSB officer. They surrounded him, punched him in the solar plexus, and five men beat him with batons. A reporter from Russia was beaten, he simply screamed in horror. They beat me for any question.”

There are dozens of such stories, especially from detainees who were sent to the detention center on Okrestina Street. When people began to be released, many could not walk on their own, they required medical assistance, people were taken to the hospital in ambulances.

By the way, Russian journalists in Minsk not only asked questions, but also gave interviews themselves. For example, Roman Babayan decided to express his own opinion about the situation in Belarus: “We met with the President of Belarus, he absolutely correctly said: “You must clearly understand that those who do all this need not us, but you.” This means Russia. By striking Belarus, they strike Russia. I absolutely agree with him."

On the subject: 'Forget about the great empire': Belarusians in the United States urged Putin to abandon support for Lukashenka

“I will not talk to the Coordination Council”

Lukashenko said he would not talk to the Coordination Council created by the opposition “because he does not know who these people are.”

But Lukashenka knows for sure at least a few members of the council's presidium. For example, Svetlana Aleksievich, whom he congratulated on being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015. And also Pavel Latushko, the former Minister of Culture of the country.

The members of the Coordination Council themselves have repeatedly said that they tried to establish a dialogue with government officials, but no one began to communicate with them. But a criminal case was opened into the creation of the council - the Prosecutor General’s Office stated that the council was created with the aim of “seizing power and causing harm to the national security” of the country.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Belarus intercepted the 'conversation between Warsaw and Berlin' about Navalny: no one believed them

Belarusians congratulated Lukashenka on his birthday with protests, he responded with detentions

Putin creates special squads to help Lukashenka during protests in Belarus

Protests in Belarus: Lukashenka accuses opposition of trying to seize power

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