Lukashenko tells US to ‘admit defeat’
In an interview with the American broadcaster Newsmax on 13 December, the Belarusian leader said he had conveyed “proposals of pragmatism” to US President Donald Trump through the latter’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale.
Responding to a question about the future of Belarus-US relations, Lukashenko said that Minsk and Washington could only reach an agreement “on the tracks of pragmatism.” He argued that a commitment to pragmatism unites Americans and Belarusians. According to the president, he relayed to his American counterpart, via Cole’s visit to Minsk last week, “several proposals of our pragmatism” which he claimed align with US interests.
Lukashenko said Americans and Belarusians needed to “stop fighting each other” and instead negotiate.
“Why do we have poor relations with the Americans? What have we done wrong to the United States of America? Nothing. So why are you looking at us askance?” the head of state asked rhetorically, calling on Washington to “admit its defeat.”
“Even if you are a large country like the US, if in 2020, having organised an attack against us (not you personally, but you were supporters of it), you lost — you must proceed from this. You don’t need to go around shouting to the world: we lost. But you must proceed from it. You lost — let’s sit down calmly, man-to-man, and move forward,” the Belarusian President stated.
He emphasised his desire to establish good relations with Americans, including to avoid passing on the problems that arose between Belarus and the US during his leadership to a new generation of leaders.
“Every generation must solve its own problems. Our generation — Trump’s, Lukashenko’s — has problems. We must solve them,” the head of state said categorically.
It will be recalled that during the last visit of Trump’s special envoy to Minsk, the Belarusian President gave his American counterpart an icon as a gift. It depicted “St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker,” whom, according to Belarusian state TV, is highly revered in the US.