Lukashenka is Russia's stooge in “elections”

Russia's ambassador to Belarus said about the support of the Belarusian dictator in another fake election.

“We cannot interfere with the election campaign of another country, but we support the re-election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka,” Ambassador of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov said at a press conference in Minsk on June 10.

Surikov thinks the Belarusians must be grateful to Lukashenka as the president who led the country out of the chaos.

The Russian ambassador thinks the Belarusian authorities have “certain fears” about the future, but they will overcome them “because they already showed they are able to do it”. “All opposition politicians (I know them all) have nothing to offer except for slogans that people will prosper if they come to power,” the Russian ambassador said.

Russia allows Belarus to delay loan payments for next years, the ambassador said. In particular, it is planned to delay payments on the $750m loan and the $450m loan of the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund.  Surikov also noted that Russia gave Belaus 110 million dollars in 2015. “This is interests on the 2010 loan that Belarus was expected to pay Russia this year,” Surikov explained. So, Belarus' payments on the external debt this year will be significantly lower than expected, he concluded. “It saves Belarus 1.3 billion dollars. They were expected to pay about $4 billion, but now they need to pay $2.7 billion,” the Russian ambassador noted.

According to BelaPAN news agency, Surikov also spoke about consultations on the allocation  of a new loan from the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund to Belarus. “The talks are under way. We expect a decision on another tranche to Belarus to be taken,” he said. Belarus will receive other measures of support, according to Surikov. “Russia will give $1 billion this year for the construction of the nuclear power plant,” the ambassador said.

Surikov recalled the decisions aimed at unloading warehouses of Belarusian enterprises. He means the anticrisis programme signed by the governments of Belarus and Russia on March 3 that provides for creating conditions for the promotion of sales of Belarusian goods. “I think the process of unblocking of warehouses of Belarusian enterprises will start in the second half of the year,” the Russian ambassador said.