Dear comrades,

…We determined the basic guidelines for our development at the third All – Belarus People's Assembly. We know them very well. But the aim of my address is not to remind you of that once again. I wish to focus your attention on the new trends taking shape in the changing world and on the need of responding adequately to these changes.

At present, such a global process as the movement of the world community from a unipolar system towards multipolarity is becoming increasingly obvious. It’s a fact. New power centres are emerging and energetically consolidating themselves. Their battle for "a place under the sun" is leading to large-scale, I would say planet-scale, contradictions which are fraught with a new redistribution of spheres of influence and cause disturbance of the fragile balance in the world.

What position must Belarus adopt under the new conditions in the changing world?

In the year of presidential election, our society could hear from all directions a lot of different, often diametrically opposite, pieces of advice.

Some were suggesting to yield fully to the Western interests and stand in line after the newcomers and wait for crumbs from the master’s table, others were opting for joining, with each region separately, a bigger state, thus losing sovereignty.

Certainly, our people categorically opposes such options. And we have never pursued and never promised to pursue such a policy to the Belarusian people.

Belarus is making independently its historical choice, including its foreign policy choice. Being a state that respects itself, Belarus is actively and consistently, together with its allies and partners, involved in forming one of the serious world power centres, upholding its national interests and the principles of equitable world order…

Our strategic line in regard to cooperation with the European Union and the United States is clear. We are saying frankly: without intending to join the EU, we offer a mutually beneficial partnership with this strong neighbour. We offer the United States the same cooperation within our spheres of common interest…

They would say to us that Belarus has, allegedly, the wrong values. But let us look into the matter.

If we are talking about respect for states, their independence and sovereignty, their rights to choose their futures, about the right of the people to elect its leaders, about respect of the right to life and free labour, worthy wages and salaries, the right to equality of all before the law, the right to freedom of opinion and expression in conformity to the law, without detriment to the rights of other people - these are our values. The U.S. and the EU do not have a monopoly on these rights. Our nation had paid a far greater price for these values than the U.S.A. and the EU…

The Europeans must also be aware that we defend their countries from illegal migration, international crime, drug trafficking. These are the acutest problems for Europe. The Europeans must also be aware that we defend their countries from other infringements. We should better propagandize what Belarus is, why it is more advantageous to make friends with it rather than enter into conflict. And if we manage to convince members of different sections of the German, Polish, British society, other Western countries of the truth of it, the governments of those countries will find it far more difficult to justify their attempts to exercise pressure on Belarus.

Just think what kind of media pressure they arranged on our ambassador in Poland! When I met with him I said: “Thanks to God for having made it happen. You found yourself in the epicenter of all the events in Europe. And you had an enormous advantage: you had to fight alone against all of them. Willy-nilly, they had to talk this way or another about your position, about the position of Belarus.” And the citizens themselves will draw a conclusion. What is more, they obviously overdid it, overdid with their pressure, and, as a result, we managed to change the situation in our favour. Therefore, you needn’t be afraid of a dozen or more TV cameras attacking you, let us rather rejoice. The more so, that there’s nothing to be afraid of…

Please, see the Russian version of this site for the full text of the verbatim.