President Lukashenko condemns sanctions targeting all Belarusians

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has described the sanctions imposed against the country and its people as fascism.

The president made this statement during a meeting with university students on September 27, Caliber.Az reports via Belarussian media. 

“We must not depend on producers who are currently taking advantage of the elderly, children, and students,” he said. “It is so sneakily to ban the import of essential equipment and medications for sick individuals. President Lukashenko emphasised that the West's sanctions target not just him personally, but all Belarusians, including students, their parents, and relatives.

“This is fascism,” he asserted. "It is [West] teaching us democracy and demanding humanity from us. This goes beyond double standards; it's a complete degradation of human conscience and dignity," the president stated.

Lukashenko reminded that Belarus is an export-oriented country with an open economy.

"That's why it is [West] suffocating us with sanctions, forcing all of us to seek new markets and sources for components that we haven't yet mastered. And we find them. We know that all difficulties are temporary for us. This is a time of opportunity," he noted. 

The president emphasised that it is impossible to completely block the transfer of technologies or products in a globalised world; it simply isn’t feasible. 

Moreover, he pointed out that the sanctions have spurred action and innovation. For example, the design bureaus of major enterprises, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and local universities are actively engaged in import substitution efforts.

"This is the right approach, and we have no other choice if we want to survive. If we don't learn to produce components for our own products, then those products will be of no use to anyone," Lukashenko said.  

The president emphasised that Belarus is currently producing modern buses and electric buses, passenger cars, tractors, and combine harvesters that match the quality of the best imported models.  

“We have made strides in microelectronics; we even developed our own laptop, as well as advancements in information technologies, pharmaceutics, and biotechnology and that’s just a small part of our achievements. The country is evolving, and so are its people,” President Lukashenko stated. 

“We are also going to produce our own mobile phone, which has been a topic of much discussion lately. We must do this because gadgets have recently been turned into instruments of warfare. This has become a matter of national security,” he added.

By Naila Huseynova