American envoys came to see me before the crisis in Iraq and asked me to say that there were nuclear weapons in Iraq. I refused. They even told me that things would go well for Belarus in terms of investments, etc. All I had to do was to support them. I told them that I couldn't do it because I knew that there were no nuclear weapons there.
How have relations with Iran and Belarus benefited Venezuela? We are interested in countries that have democracies, that respect human rights, that we have an affinity with. What affinity do we have with Iran?
Political leaders in Belarus are routinely repressed, and their voices are muffled: Tsikhanouskaya was running for president because her husband, Siarhei Tsikhanouski, was arrested before he could start his own presidential campaign.
We will ensure the interests of both the East and the West in Belarus. Don't try to rip us apart; don't try to make us collide with Russia or with the West.
We are ready and open to a dialogue with all sides, all parties and all countries that respect the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Belarus.
Taking into consideration that we are involved in Russia's orbit, any coughing there will produce painful economic and political convulsions here.
Russia’s back yard is littered with authoritarian regimes—Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan, to name a few—whose leaders seem to view positions as lifetime appointments.
Mr. Putin has to understand that if he does something against us Belarusians, it will seriously damage the relationship between the Russian and Belarusian people.
No matter who comes to Belarusian land, I will fight. Even if it is Putin.
The color revolution virus affects only weak countries. Belarus does not have any breeding ground for this.
What you have to remember about Belarus is that it's a small state - it has a population of less than 10m people - and like many small states, it has to be very careful about its relationships.
You know, I have to admit that this political crisis that takes place in our country is absolutely an internal affair. And we have - the Belarusian people - have a responsibility for what's going on.
My homeland of Belarus is an unlikely place for an Internet revolution. The country, controlled by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, was once described by Condoleezza Rice as 'the last outpost of tyranny in Europe.'
There is no scope for revolutions coming to Belarus.
Who is against human rights in Belarus today? Of course, no one should view human rights as the right to smash shop windows or stir up unrest in the streets.
I am sure that it is the Belarus people who are the masters in our state.
We have always argued that attempts to isolate Belarus, like other countries, lead to a dead end. In this situation, everyone loses.
I don't hate. I love the Russian people. I love the Belarusan people... I love Ukraine very much.
Belarus cannot be isolated.
Belarus is not the Middle East. The policies of Belarussian and Middle Eastern leaders are cardinally different from one another.
My friend Leonid Shvets is a long-time journalist, commentator, and editor. He was born in Belarus and came to Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, to go to school, then moved to Kiev for work.
In 2005, I got an email from Belarus Free Theatre. They were emailing playwrights in America and England announcing their existence and saying they would like support from us. I wrote back and asked if they wanted us to visit. They said, 'Yes, we'd love that.'
We have to destroy stereotypes in people's minds that Belarus can be isolated or taught a lesson.
I'm going to fight the force of emotions by that of intellect
Belarus will become the first government in the world that opens wide opportunities for the use of blockchain technology.
