July 4, Pozirk. The people of the United States of America should ignore “political stereotypes” and “make their personal impression of Belarus, assessing its achievements,” says Alaksandar Łukašenka’s congratulatory message on US Independence Day.
In a rare acknowledgement by Belarusian officials of the US role in World War II, the message says, “We appreciate the efforts by ordinary Americans, who have helped us in a very human, sincere way to fight Nazism, rebuild the country after the war and overcome the consequences of the nuclear disaster in the Ukrainian Chernobyl,” according to his press office.
Belarus has always appreciated “the importance of constructive contacts” with the US, which benefited both states in the past, Łukašenka added.
Just two days earlier, the Belarusian leader drew parallels between the US and the Nazis. “[Adolf] Hitler’s Germany assumed the role of a teacher then. The entire European Union, led by the United States, is trying to teach us now,” Łukašenka said in his Independence Day address.
In the same address, he reaffirmed readiness “to start a constructive dialogue with the West.”
Łukašenka and other top officials have been under personal US sanctions since 2006.
