Big Conversation with President lasts eight hours

9 августа 2021

The Big Conversation with the President ended only in the evening. This unique event was broadcasted live and kept the information field in tension, not only in our country, but also in the near and far abroad countries. About one thousand people applied for the media marathon. Only three hundred could fit in the large hall of the Palace of Independence. Among the guests there were representatives of mass media from Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, altogether 12 countries. Each had its own question and a different angle of view on the Belarusian events. Though... Is it always their own? Sometimes, there was an impression that questions asked by western mass media seemed to have been "passed down from above" and were copied in spite of the fact that the answer had been already heard, and not once. Which involuntarily made one think - is it really free media? The President replied to everyone. Sometimes rather brusquely, but always honestly and in-depth on the subject. Updating of the Constitution, economic performance, relations between Belarus and its neighbors, the response to the sanctions policy, situation on the border with Lithuania and dozens of other important topics were raised.

Belarus found itself in the focus of attention of the whole world, but not by choice. We have had a tough year. We have withstood and are confidently holding the information blow. We adopted our strategy of response to the challenges under extreme conditions. The Belarusian state gained invaluable experience and passed the test of national unity. And the only antidote against information poison, according to the head of state, is the purest truth.

The President responded to Western sanctions rhetoric

Some of the questions of the "Big Conversation" were, predictably, related to the rhetoric of the West sanctions and the work of the Belarusian enterprises in these conditions. Thus, Alexander Lukashenko responded to the Lithuania's threats to stop the transit of potash fertilizers. In this case Belarus will redirect the flow to the ports in Russia. And the President recommended individual politicians to think more before making decisions.

The President is ready to give an interview  to the American channel CNN

Some questions of the meeting participants were related to geopolitics, modern scenarios of color revolutions and the events in Belarus after the presidential election. Alexander Lukashenko answered to all of them. At the same time he agreed to give an interview to CNN, whose representative was present in the hall. However, on one condition. And he asked the question to the Americans. According to the laws of drama, right during the conversation about the Western democracy, a message came from London, where protesters against anti-vaccine restrictions and the introduction of vaccination passports tried to storm the BBC studio. The reaction from the audience speaks for itself.

Some questions sparked off heated discussion in the audience

The American journalists raised some questions about the events of August 2020 that caused heated discussion in the hall. Representatives of the Belarusian mass media tried to inform them of their opinion supported by facts.

The President instructs to work out a system for granting citizenship to IDPs from Ukraine by the end of the year

In answer to our colleague Ksenia Lebedova's question about citizenship for displaced people from Ukraine, the President instructed to manage this issue by the end of the year. A large part of the conversation was devoted to Ukraine. There is no doubt that this country is greatly interested in the opinion of the Belarusian leader. Several journalists in the hall were able to talk to Alexander Lukashenko. The first question was about the urgent issues. Relations between the fraternal nations have been and remain the warmest, but there are obvious problems at the state level. Maxim Nazarov, a journalist of the Nash TV channel, managed to get a full-fledged interview with the head of state. The dialogue  lasted about half an hour and immediately made headlines in dozens of media outlets. The conversation also touched upon the way the neighboring countries saw the Belarusian leader. Belarus' political future. How does the internal political field of Belarus look like now? Who could become the country's next president? Our colleague from Russia Konstantin Pridybaylo asked the President on integration with Russia. "Any integration must be without consequences for the independence and sovereignty," said the President, speaking of the cooperation between Belarus and Russia. Our country has never been against the closest union with Russia, based on equal conditions and equality. As for the events of last year, they have brought the states closer and put a lot of things in place. The forthcoming Supreme State Council of the Union State will provide a clear understanding of how the economic partnership will develop further. Roadmaps have been reformatted into Union programs. Strategic military cooperation between Belarus and Russia is a bone in the throat for the collective West. A common history of victors and fraternal ties, which cannot be destroyed, is an ironclad argument. And the topic that was given special attention in the conversation. Another question is from a representative of our once great common homeland. Georgia as well as some other post-Soviet countries is losing markets and historical memory.

The meeting lasted for over eight hours. Among the topics were Belarus' foreign policy, the relations with Ukraine and Lithuania, modern geopolitics and the power scenarios of the color revolutions. There were inquiries about traitors, and about the "last year's protests. Both this audience and the whole world heard. A rich conversation on the main thing after exactly one year of Belarus remaining a sovereign and independent Belarus.