Opinions & Interviews

Belarus in dialogue to accede to WTO Government Procurement Agreement
The WTO Secretariat representative said: “Belarus has lately taken considerable steps to join the WTO and has started rather vigorously the dialogue on the possible potential accession to the Government Procurement Agreement”...

Lukashenko’s teacher recounts president’s school time
“He always studied well, took part in all our school events and often joined our hiking tours. Back then we often helped with harvesting and he did that, too”...

Results-oriented management, discipline seen as factors of independence in Belarus
"These are factors of our independence. Because economic development depends on this. The thing, about which we should be concerned most, is is the economy. There are no other problems in our society. We keep other things tightly under control. The economy is above all”...

Claims about temporary nature of new Belarusian government dismissed as nonsense
"Trust me, as I appoint you and other officials, I don’t think you will stay only till the election day and then everyone will be replaced. Total nonsense. Contrariwise, I want you to work after the elections. I want you to work after my time is over"...

Surikov on his work in Belarus, plans for future
“We are the peoples of the same Slavic roots. All opponents of the Union State should understand that there are no closer peoples than Russia and Belarus, by all parameters. This is something we should proceed from”...

Senator: Belarus, Finland interested in easing tensions in East-West relations
Sergei Rakhmanov recalled that during the summer session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Minsk in 2017, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko invited the OSCE to begin discussions on the need for a new Helsinki process...

Russian ambassador leaves Belarus with tinge of sadness
“What do people feel when they leave the place where they worked for a long time? I have been working here for twelve and a half years? Of course, it is with a tinge of sadness. I believe that we have interacted well with the people and leadership of Belarus”...

Lukashenko: Interests of Belarus and Russia never contradict each other
“Russia is a guardian angel for Belarus. The same is true about Belarus in respect to Russia. The size of the territory does not matter here”...

Belarus hailed as example for other countries in creating child-friendly environment
"We are happy to see that the efforts we have taken together with the government and local authorities have led to positive results, such as the creation of a platform for cities friendly to children and teenagers"...

Belarus prime minister promises balanced state budget in 2019
“With regard to the budget, the fundamental requirement that it is balanced remains in place. We cannot spend more than we earn. There will be no expenditures that are not based on revenue in the budget”...

Speaker: Belarus ready to develop industrial cooperation with Vietnam
"A number of projects are being implemented. For example, this year saw the launch of the project to assemble MAZ trucks, passenger buses. In the food industry we are implementing a project to establish a joint venture to process powdered milk and dry whey"...

Services sector seen as GDP growth driver in Belarus
The Belarusian president has set forth a big task, namely to ensure the GDP in the amount of $100 billion by 2025. The growth drivers, according to Alexander Turchin, are the services sector, primarily the IT sector, and also the transport and logistics industry...

Lukashenko considers Trump an extraordinary politician
"I asked my counterpart about what was happening from their, Russia’s, point of view in the United States of America. I was interested in the issue especially because of the fact, and I do not hide it, that I rooted for Donald Trump during the election campaign in the United States"...

Belarus president responds to speculations about his ‘fears’
"I’ve read various speculations concerning fears and terrors for Lukashenko in the future and so on. First, I don’t fear anything now. I am a man, who has lived through many fears. But there is one fear – if you can call it that – the fear of economy. I always talk about it"...

Outgoing ambassador wishes for resolution of Belarus-Russia disputes without major reputation damage
“I cannot say that my years here have not been darkened a little. Such things always happen. Such disputes happened in the past and will continue happening. I wish them resolved without any serious damage to the reputations of the sides”...

Putin: Belarus is Russia’s main partner
"It is not just a neighboring country. This is, first of all, a country with which we have special relations and historical, ethnic, language and economic bonds"...

Vitebsk Oblast companies urged to be more active on Chinese market
According to Oleg Matskevich, certain commodities enjoy a good demand in China and can offset the drop in exports to Russia...

Precision agriculture expected to help save resources in Belarus
"We have approached the next stage of the agricultural industry development. Precision agriculture will help save expensive resources – diesel fuel, crop protection agents and mineral fertilizers - and will help increase the competitiveness of our products"...

Opinion: Belarusian, Russian laws should be aligned with due regard to national interests
“Belarus and Russia are two different states. Each has its independent stance, sovereignty and national interests. Our task is to get closer as much as possible in order to give more opportunities to our citizens to implement their rights”...

Opinion: Minsk Half Marathon is bringing charity into focus
The charity run that will take place on 9 September will be one of the highlights of the Minsk Half Marathon. The organizers call for joining the fundraising campaign to support four projects for children...