OREANDA-NEWS. October 21, 2010. Russia needs time to re-think relations with neighbors, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko told the Lithuanian newspaper Litovsky Kurier in an interview that was published on 21 October.

At present Russia aims to establish partnership relations. “Okay, let’s be partners. Earlier they used to say that we are brothers, that we are one people. Nobody argues against it. The Belarusians and the Russians are one people, are brothers. But both the Russians and the Belarusians have their own peculiarities,” said Alexander Lukashenko. According to the President, the most important thing is that the Belarusians and the Russians live in their own countries and the fact should be taken into account by default.

“Someone would like to see Belarus as part of Russia. This is why as part of the Union State, instead of a constitution that the Union State treaty specifies, we were offered the Russian ruble as a single currency, with only Russia’s issuing it. Would you agree to that? Powerless Belarus and plenipotentiary Russia. If we needed something, we would have to appeal to the Kremlin and beg on our knees,” remarked the President.

The Belarusian head of state also reminded that Belarus and Russia are united in security matters. “We are the outpost, as they like saying, in the west of the Russian Federation. Why don’t they take into account the military base? This is why one shouldn’t say that someone freeloads off others”.

Alexander Lukashenko also believes that the information war currently waged by Russian mass media against Belarus will not be productive. He said that in Russia and in Lithuania people have a normal attitude towards Lukashenko. “But it doesn’t mean that I want to be the czar in the Kremlin or in Lithuania. I have enough power in Belarus. I work well. People respect me. I am fed up with it,” he said.

“If the Russians respect Lukashenko, use it. Don’t try to reduce the respect for him in the Russian society, moreover, when results are contrary. People in Russia are smart and understand what is going on,” believes the head of state.

Speaking about the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Alexander Lukashenko said: “They say that Belarus hasn’t recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Why, has Lithuania recognized them? No. But you don’t put that much pressure on Lithuania. Have Kazakhstan and Ukraine that Russia is seemingly friends with today recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia? No, they haven’t. Why do you treat Belarus like that? It means that Abkhazia and Ossetia are not the point…”