Aleksandr Lukashenko also made some comments about negotiations on prices for Russian gas for Belarus. He described his arguments as simple: “The 75th anniversary of the Great Victory is near. We are shouting about it from every rooftop both in Russia and Belarus. But today Gazprom earns 3 times as much in Belarus than in Germany. Is it normal? It is abnormal,” the head of state stressed.
The sides have reached an agreement on supplying gas on previous terms for a certain period of time for now. “When we decided to sell [the Belarusian gas transport system operating company] Beltransgaz in 2011, we had an inflexible agreement that we will reach Russian domestic prices for gas over the course of 5 years,” Aleksandr Lukashenko reminded. “Someone may have forgotten it but I haven't. This is why I insist it must be done.”
“If we did that, you and I wouldn't exist now. Russia is not just a huge country and a friendly nation. It is a country we bought raw materials from. And most importantly it is our common market since there is an abundance of raw materials, we can buy them in any country. We reworked and refined everything in this space. If you look at the neighborly country of Ukraine, you will see what can happen and what may have happened [in Belarus]. Partially because everything was torn apart and broken and left bleeding,” Lukashenko believes.
