The long-time leader has taken a dig at Kiev ahead of Belarus’ January 26 presidential election
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that his “dictatorship” is better than the “democracy” in neighboring Ukraine. Belarus’ long-term leader will seek re-election for the seventh consecutive term later this month.
During a speech at an Orthodox Christmas service on Tuesday, Lukashenko commented on a recent statement by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who suggested that Belarus would eventually become “free.”
“Let them say that we have a dictatorship here or something else. Look, it is better to have a dictatorship like in Belarus than a democracy like in Ukraine. We must stand firm. In no case should we falter,” Lukashenko said, as quoted by the state-run BelTA news agency.
The Belarusian leader also claimed that ill-wishers abroad want to disturb peace in Belarus, suggesting that Kiev was acting on the West’s orders.
In his New Year’s address, Zelensky claimed it was important to support “the peoples who are fighting for freedom,” mentioning Belarusians in particular.
He also used a nationalist slogan that translates as “Long live Belarus” and is similar in meaning to Kiev’s “Glory to Ukraine.”
“It was as if [Zelensky] was hinting that soon [Belarus] would be like Ukraine. That’s what I thought when I heard him. And I thought: “God forbid,” said Lukashenko.
Lukashenko, who has led the country since 1994, will run for re-election in the polls scheduled for January 26. The last presidential election, in 2020, sparked a wave of protests over what the opposition claimed was widespread fraud. Minsk has denied the allegations, insisting that the unrest was orchestrated by the US, its European “satellites,” and neighboring Ukraine.
Lukashenko has widely been labeled a “dictator” by various Western media outlets and organizations due to his tenure in power and alleged human rights violations. In November, he admitted that there “really is” a dictatorship in his country, and it is one of “stability, security, order, kindness and hospitality.”
Kiev has seen two Western-backed revolutions in as many decades, one of which was the 2014 Euromaidan, which followed then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s request to postpone discussions for an association agreement with the European Union. The move eventually led to his ouster and the establishment of a US and EU-aligned government.
Those events became one of the key factors leading to the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last month.
Moscow and Minsk signed a new security deal last month, which, among other things, allows for Russia’s cutting-edge Oreshnik missiles to be stationed in the neighboring country.
