Фото: пресс-служба Лукашенко
Alyaksandr Lukashenka used today’s meeting of the Security Council to demand that Lithuania enter negotiations with Minsk, stressing that Lithuanian hauliers’ trucks will not leave Belarus “just like that”. He added that Belarus is even prepared to buy perishable cargoes stranded on its territory.
Lukashenka then outlined what he considers Belarus’s claims in the event of talks:
“Return the 17 or 20 vehicles you stole. The fire trucks that were being supplied to Zimbabwe. Normalise the work of our sanatorium where we treated Chernobyl children. You effectively took the sanatorium away from the children. And return to us the money we invested in building the port,” he said.
Belarus earlier held a 30% stake in the company operating the bulk cargo terminal at the Port of Klaipėda, through which Belarusian potash was transshipped.
Lukashenka also returned to the narrative about alleged “alternative governments” and armed groups being formed in neighbouring countries:
“They make demands of us. And imagine if we in Belarus were creating alternative governments and supporting ‘fighters for independence’. They are creating combat units there, they are arming them. Remember the ‘horuhvy’. They haven’t gone anywhere. And entire regiments, as they call them. Is this a joke? And they still make claims against us. Well, they can maintain them if they have the money. But if this is directed against our country, how should we respond?”