Published: April 20, 2026 5:30 am
Author: RT
Politicians like France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz are beholden to “rich donors,” the Belarusian president says
Western leaders are figureheads dependent on wealthy donors who “do not care about their people,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said in an interview with RT’s Rick Sanchez.
Speaking at the presidential palace in Minsk, Lukashenko discussed the Western political system, Belarus’ relations with neighboring countries, US President Donald Trump, and a range of other topics.
Leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “are all just temporary placeholders… They’re here today, gone tomorrow,” Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and is Europe’s longest-serving current leader, said.
“They’re just trying to grab something while they can. That’s the foundation of their policies,” he added, while highlighting his own style of governance.
“I appoint the government, supervise its work, and bear responsibility for the outcomes,” Lukashenko said. He argued that in the West, “it’s not clear who appoints who and who’s responsible for what… the people there don’t know who they can hold accountable.”
The Belarusian leader said Western politicians owe their positions to “rich donors who finance them,” and “over time, they begin to prioritize the interests of these donors, not the people of Germany, France, or the UK.”
Watch the full interview here:
