On Wednesday, the Belarusian president responded with threats to European sanctions over the Ryanair incident on Sunday and accused the West of waging a “cold war” against the country, which could escalate into a “new world war.”
“We are at the forefront of a new war, no longer cold, but icy.”– said Alexander Lukashenko in his speech in front of the two chambers of the Belarusian parliament, quoted by the local official news agency BelTA.
For the President of Belarus, a “hybrid war on several levels” began against the country, whose goal is to “demonize” Belarus.
We are a small country, but we will respond accordingly. There are similar examples in the world. But before we act thoughtlessly, we must remember that Belarus is the center of Europe and that if something breaks out here, it will be a new world war, ”he warned.
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Lukashenka stressed that, in the face of any sanctions, attacks or provocations, Belarus will “respond harshly”warning that the West “leaves no other choice.”
We compensate for the sanctions with active shares in other markets. We will replace inexorably aging Europe with fast-growing Asia. Our society is ready to become a new Eurasia, an outpost of a new Eurasia, ”he added.
In turn, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said that a package of protection measures for companies and citizens has already been prepared, which consists of a possible embargo on the import of goods from the West and restrictions on their transit.
In addition, Lukashenka also warned that Belarus can weaken control over drug trafficking and illegal migration, forcing the Europeans to take on the solution of the entire problem.
The Belarusian president also warned those who are preparing new sanctions against Belarus so that they “do not forget to compensate” for the costs incurred by Minsk during the investigation of the incident.
“You have to pay for this,” he added.
Lukashenka reiterated that in the incident with the forced landing of the Ryanair aircraft, his actions were consistent with the legal framework.
“I acted in accordance with the law, protecting people in accordance with all international standards,” Lukashenka said, stating that allegations that a passenger plane was forced to land by a MiG-29 fighter are “a complete lie”.
The President of Belarus argued that the task of the Belarusian fighter was to ensure communication with a passenger plane and deliver it to the Minsk airport in case of a critical situation.
Belarusian authorities arrested journalist Roman Protasevich on Sunday after Lukashenko ordered a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to be sent to Minsk airport.
Protasevich, 26, is the former editor-in-chief of the influential Nexta channel, who became the main source of information in the early weeks of anti-government protests following the August 2020 presidential elections.
Several Western organizations and countries have already condemned the actions of the Belarusian authorities, which claim to have acted lawfully in the interception of a commercial Ryanair flight, claiming that the Palestinian group Hamas created an explosion threat.
Belarus is in a political crisis following the August 9, 2020 elections, which, according to official results, brought President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for more than two decades, to a sixth term with 80% of the vote.
The opposition declared the elections rigged and declared their victory in the presidential elections.
Since then, the country has seen a wave of popular protests demanding Lukashenka’s resignation, opposition-led demonstrations that have been brutally suppressed by Belarusian security forces.
