Belarusian President makes new appointments

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko announced new appointments on 1 August.

The head of state appointed:

Dmitry Krutoi – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Russian Federation, Belarus’ Plenipotentiary to the CIS Economic Council, Special Representative of the Republic of Belarus on integration cooperation in the Union State, Eurasian Economic Union, CIS and the Collective Security Treaty Organization;

Maksim Yermolovich – Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration;

Aleksandr Kulik – Forestry Minister;

Vladimir Borovikov – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Thailand on concurrent accreditation.

The President approved the appointment of:

Yuri Romanovsky – Rector of Polotsk State University;

Aleksandr Dorokhovich – First Deputy Sports and Tourism Minister;

Tatyana Shevtsova – Executive Secretary at the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee;

Maksim Aleshkevich – member of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee.

The head of state noted that due to his extensive experience Maksim Yermolovich, who has until now worked as Ambassador of Belarus to the UK and concurrently to Ireland, as well as Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization, is familiar with the work of the government and the Belarus President Administration.

“A seasoned, smart, advanced person who has got an idea of what the West is. I know this well (maybe he is not aware that I know this), but he’s a normal, professional, committed pro-Belarus person. He has a good understanding of what needs to be done in Belarus. He has lived in one of the world’s advanced countries and he has seen all the good and bad things about the UK. Naturally, there are a lot of good things about the British economy. We absolutely do not need the kind of politics modeled on the UK. We are not going to copy it. He has probably realized it, too. However, the economy, the financial sector are something to have a close look at,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.

“As for the embassy in Russia, there is absolutely no need to give you any instructions: you know very well what work is done in this embassy. Working in the president administration, you must have (I hope so) understood all of the President's ideas about Russia. You know that this is our main focus in economic terms. As for politics, this is our friendly country. You should use this ideology to represent our country in the Russian Federation,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “You know what to do there. Stay in touch. Due to the circumstances and the policy we have between the two states, our relations, you will always be in the center of attention,” he added.

The head of state named the Belarusian embassy in Russia the second government. After all, this country is Belarus’ main economic partner. “That is why in a conversation with the President of Russia... He, of course, was provided with the information about Dmitry Krutoi, but I will not tell you what I told him. The main thing is that this man is very promising. Everything depends on you: your life, your fate, and in many respects the situation in the Republic of Belarus. Take a look at the embassy, you have to build a system. Although, I do not think that anybody worked with the left hand under Semashko there. No matter how we may treat him, this is a systematic and experienced person. Therefore, I think that everything is fine with the embassy there. However, the work in the embassy should be built depending on the current tasks,” the President said.

"The main thing is economy. That's the number one question. If there is a functioning economy, everything else will follow. I would like to note that the sovereignty and independence of Belarus (the West is generating this idea that we are losing our sovereignty and independence by cooperating with Russia) are a constant and I tell you this directly as you are a future representative not only of the Belarusian President in Russia. These things are not something to be discussed," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed, appointing Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi Belarus' ambassador to Russia.

The head of state reiterated that Belarus and Russia are able to build a close union while maintaining sovereignty and independence. "We are quite smart people. The Russian President is an absolutely reasonable person and understands in which direction we should move. Therefore, by preserving the independence of Russia and Belarus, we will build such a union that both federal and confederate states, and, perhaps, even unitary states will be envious of," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko explained why he chose Aleksandr Kulik as Forestry Minister when he made new appointments.

“Welcome back! This does not mean any conspiracy theories here,” the head of state said announcing Aleksandr Kulik’s new appointment. “I understand that you did not agree with the former forestry minister on everything. This, however, does not mean that everything was bad in the forestry sector. There were a lot of good things, too,” he said.

“We all know very well what forest means to people. However, we need to control the situation there. I hope that you, Aleksandr Antonovich [Kulik] will not fail. My choice may seem somewhat unconventional: the person worked as the first deputy forestry minister, then gave up on everything and went to head a forestry. A very good forestry, I should say. You are a professional, as many people say about you. Everyone knows the mistakes of the previous authority and the unacceptable offenses committed by the former minister [Former Forestry Minister Vitaly Drozhzha was dismissed from his post in May 2022 for misconduct incompatible with holding public office]. I think you will draw the appropriate conclusions from this situation,” the Belarusian leader said.