30 May 2007
Lukashenka warns that Belarus will never agree to incorporation into Russia
Alyaksandr Lukashenka warned that Belarus would never agree to its incorporation into Russia.
"We would not like to be anyone's puppets," Mr. Lukashenka said at his Tuesday meeting with a delegation of Russian government officials representing the Siberian Federal District. "And what matters most for us is that we should not become a part of any other country. We don't want to join Poland or Lithuania, which we were once a part of. We will not become a part of the Russian state. This is not necessary, this is harmful. This would create a new Chechnya in the west of the Russian Federation."
"We are ready today not only for a serious dialogue but for a serious union with Russia," Mr. Lukashenka went on to say. "But we want to know clearly what Russia wants from Belarus, what are the reasons for this or that direction and proposal."
The head of state reiterated his objections to the introduction of the Russian ruble in Belarus before the adoption of the Union State's constitution. "Why do they put the cart ahead of the horse? We just want to know this. We may agree to this. But why not a constitution that would provide for everything, including a single currency? And why are they in fact denouncing the Union State establishment treaty today?" //BelaPAN
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