Łukašenka lashes out at West at security conference in Minsk
Belarusian leader speaking at the conference
October 31, Pozirk. Half of the planet’s economies are “paralyzed by illegal restrictions,” Alaksandar Łukašenka has told participants in a two-day conference on Eurasian security that opened today in Minsk.
He claimed that he talked through intermediaries with a high-ranking official from the United States, who reportedly threatened tighter sanctions and starting a war against Belarus should Minsk support Russia’s war on Ukraine by invading it from the north.
“I answered them about the war: ‘Give it a try.’ And about sanctions . . . in reality they hit ordinary people,” Łukašenka said. “Under such conditions, any fulfilment of commitments under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is out of the question. The world could be much closer to achieving these goals without the West’s thuggish bans and restrictions.”
The Belarusian ruler said that the West restricted supplies of parts for Western medical equipment and its maintenance. “This is people’s health, what does Łukašenka have to do with it, what do dictatorship and officials have to do with it, if it concerns ordinary people?” he said.
His statement conflicts with Prime Minister Raman Hałoŭčanka’s January 26 assertion that Belarus “had almost completely overcome the consequences of sanction restrictions in the sphere of supplies of medical equipment and medical-purpose items.”
In April, the US Bureau of Industry and Security established new humanitarian license exceptions for medical devices exported to Russia and Belarus.
Belarusian authorities often blame Western sanctions for mismanagement and negligence in healthcare, even though drugs and medical equipment are not under sanctions.
The 2nd Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security was expected to bring together about 600 participants, Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman Anatol Hłaz said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov were expected to attend, just as the OSCE secretary general.
Also read: Hungarian foreign minister to visit Minsk