Meeting to discuss Belarus’ response to sanctions

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko hosted a meeting to discuss Belarus’ response to sanctions on 16 December.

The meeting was attended by members of the government, heads of government agencies and organizations, governors, company chiefs.

“I have invited you to discuss the state of the economy. At the end of the year Belarus faced unprecedented pressure, and the sanctions are mostly likely to be piling up. We should build a clear understanding of how to act, avoid inappropriate steps, let alone mistakes, in order to prevent certain consequences of these sanctions,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The President added that all these sanctions are nothing new. There are many countries in the world that are subjected to unjustified and discriminatory actions all the time. The same policy, for example, is being pursued against Russia.

“Unfortunately, this has become a new normal; everyone disregards the violation of international law. It seems that common sense abandoned those who make such decisions,” the head of state said.

“The collective West keeps on trying to reduce the level of integration in Eurasia,” said the head of state.

When it comes to pressure on the Belarusian economy, the welfare of the country's people is at risk, Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

"The sanctions are here. This is a given. They have already become a part of our lives. Another round of sanctions has been recently imposed against us. They will have a certain negative effect, but we need to continue to live and work peacefully, preserving the economic growth dynamics," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

During the meeting, the President noted that he was interested not so much in assessing the possible consequences, as in proposals to minimize their impact and the response measures that he instructed to prepare.

"I have already said that now is one of the most difficult stages of the country's life: sanctions, COVID, attempts to undermine our stability from within in order to change the state system. Despite these and other challenges, we need to prevent the deterioration of the main economic indicators and, most importantly, we need to protect people, preserve their well-being at least at the level of the current year," the head of state emphasized.

He noted that this is the task literally for all in attendance. That is why so many people have been invited for the event.

"The sanctions game should in no way affect the upcoming domestic political events. Sooner or later, it will be over but for now we are forced to respond to the ongoing pressure," Aleksandr Lukashenko added.

With the countermeasures against the West’s sanctions in place, we need to ensure that the market is saturated with necessary goods and to prevent price increases, the head of state said.

“Our countermeasures are not about some petty revenge. The task is to use the current conditions for our benefit,” said the head of state.

He stressed that people must not suffer as a result of such measures: “The main thing here is to saturate the market with necessary goods and rule out price hikes. I call on everyone to do their best to fulfill both these tasks.”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, once there is a deficit, there emerge all kinds of grey schemes and all sorts of dishonest dealers. “Today there are as many swindlers seeking super profits, and the State Control Committee cannot cope with them alone,” said the Belarusian leader.

The head of state noted that the experience of the neighbor shows that the embargoed products will find their way to the market, yet the prices will be higher.

"For decades, we have been investing heavily in the agricultural industry and the production of consumer goods. People are bewildered to see world-level prices for domestic products in our stores," the Belarusian leader stressed.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also drew attention to the several long-standing domestic issues: "What sanctions are we talking about when we have failed to address some issues in the country for a long time. The Food and Agriculture Ministry and the governors have been repeatedly asked to sort things out with the purchase of feed additives, premixes and other things. There are still too many middle men between procurers and farmers."

"I don't understand what you expect me to do? The measures will be tough," Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.

“Nobody will let us live a quiet life because we are fighting for our land and for the right to call it ours. Therefore, now more than ever, we need to mobilize all resources - manufacturing, technology, finances, intellectual resources, so that our people and our foes alike will see that we are an established state,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

For this, the government, the National Bank, local authorities and parliamentarians will need to develop a set of measures to build up productive capacity, expand the production of goods and services in demand.

“It is not even about giving money or offering special terms. Sometimes you just need to remove old-standing barriers, unnecessary approval procedures and the like. If a domestic manufacturer is ready to take up a niche on the domestic market that was previously held by foreign competitors, it is necessary to give our companies the green light and to provide them with all kinds of assistance at all levels of government. Think how you can support such undertakings,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the Belarus President Administration and the leaders of the parliament should prepare proposals to shift the bulk of decision-making to the governors for the time being. “Thus, they will no longer need to run around government offices and turn to the President for some unnecessary approvals. I would like you to hear me and do this. I want everyone to take this instruction on board – from heads of rural councils to the prime minister, law enforcement and regulatory authorities. If additional powers are needed, in particular for the governors, to take decisions on the ground, go ahead and submit your proposals as soon as possible. Anyway, it is up to you what actions to undertake to fulfill the task. We will check the final results. If you produce a result, you will keep your job. If not, you are no longer needed,” the President said.

“A war is going on. We have no time for paperwork, for red tape,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

“As for reciprocal measures, which have already been taken and are yet to be worked out, they are not an active position of our people. We are not a warmongering nation, and, by the way, we did not start this war. We are always open to a constructive dialogue on an equal footing without any conditions and ultimatums,” the President said.

The head of state is glad that neither the government nor the National Bank show signs of hysteria or nervousness. “This businesslike spirit must be preserved in the future. Complacency (if it is complacency) is unacceptable. Any work should bring about results on a daily basis. We need more cohesion and diligence than ever!” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

“Take a careful look at the administrative personnel: we have too many administrators with the anti-government position. What surprises me most of all is that there are many such people among healthcare administrators (especially in Minsk). They think they are very smart and they can do the jobs of the prime minister, the head of the Belarus President Administration, speakers of the parliament, or everyone else,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The President emphasized that no one forbids anyone to have their own point of view. “Everyone is entitled to their own point of view, and so you are. I don’t mind it. However, all of us sitting here and the executives I have just mentioned should stay within certain limits. If you want to be absolutely independent, if you want to call for sanctions, fight against the government, and so on, you are welcome to join those self-exiled in Lithuania and Poland. More and more of them want to return home. Yet, you are free to go there, take these posts and call for sanctions. You know you will be out of reach for us there and you will not get six or eight years in prison under the new law,” said the head of state.

“However, if you are in charge of a team, you owe an allegiance to the state, no matter whether you run a private or state-run enterprise, and double so if you are a uniformed officer or a civil servant. You should have a clear understanding of your role and place. Otherwise, as I have repeated many times, any actions against the state will be considered as betrayal,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned.

The head of state also stressed that there should be no excesses, ‘purges as in the 1930s’. "They say there were repressions and stuff like that back then. I am not sure how things really were. These historical facts are twisted to fit the narrative. But let's assume that 1937-1939 was not a good time in our history: people were pursued, imprisoned and so on. The war began, and there were no generals to lead the troops as they were imprisoned. They were let out and were the first heroes defending the Soviet Union. So, it is important that we do not repeat those mistakes,” the Belarusian leader demanded and warned against repressions against people who signed nomination papers of alternative presidential candidates. “Indeed, we need to know what kind of people we have in the state apparatus. However, we will not be able to identify all of them anyway. There were thousands of them [in the country] who put their names on the nomination papers of opposition candidates, so what? We need to deal with important stuff. Believe me, over the year people’s sentiments have changed completely.”

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, this is evidenced by the results of the sociological study. "Today or tomorrow we will release them: their results are strikingly different from those we had a year ago. Although last year’s results were OK too," he said.

"Therefore, we should identify all those who left their signatures, especially those who work in the vertical of power. But there is no need to pursue them, to hold them accountable. For what? Aren’t there other more important things to do? Moreover, many have changed their allegiances for the third time already.  But those who have violated the law, encouraged people to violate the law (we also have a lot of them) must be dealt with. But this must be done carefully, without an all-fit-measuring stick, or otherwise we might turn into someone we detest, into some barbarians and punish innocent people. Therefore, we should tread carefully," the President emphasized.

He urged everyone to do their jobs, to lead people and test them in work. "Performance, not political views should be the criteria to determine whether these people are fit for their jobs. The rest is the responsibility of special services," the head of state added.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also spoke about the proposals to compile a list of officials who should follow various extremist Telegram channels. "There is no need to compile lists of those who should do it and who should not, as the head of the Belarus President Administration has proposed. This is nonsense," the President said. “Let heads of the regional and district administrations make decisions themselves. Bans have never done anything good. But if we no longer trust ourselves, then, I think we should really give the power over to the self-exiled opposition. Be vigilant and careful with what you propose. Other problems are many and we need to address them."

The head of state stressed once again that traitors would never be forgiven. “There can be no forgiveness for those who tried to turn the country upside down and give it away. We know them. We have identified dozens, even hundreds of them. We have shut down all the organizations that had received money from abroad to organize the coup and unrest in the country. No matter how hard it was, we knew what the consequences would be. Now they are asking to reopen them. This will never happen,” said the Belarusian leader.

According to the head of state, any foundation or organization can work in Belarus as long as they work for the benefit of the country. “They can help the sick, the disabled, Chernobyl victims, people in need, people with disabilities, children and so on. Such organizations are welcome here,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

“We need to put an end to this chaos today. We need to build a new Belarus,” the Belarusian leader said.