Minsk -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that the EU sanctions against Russia will not affect the development of cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the European Union.
No matter what the sanctions are, the people on the other side in the West and in the East are much smarter than those who adopt these sanctions, and they will always finds ways of going around these sanctions, ways for cooperation in all spheres. Business can’t be destroyed by pressure,” Lukashenko was quoted by his press service as saying at the ceremony for opening the Stadler Minsk plant in Fanipol, Dzerzhinsk district of the Minsk region.
“It’s difficult to isolate one person now, and such gigantic regions as the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU can never be isolated, it’s nonsense,” Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko said he is not dramatizing the situation with the sanctions. “Everyone knows that very well, especially in Belarus. Russia can survive it, too, we can survive it together, we have the experience,” he said.
Lukashenko reiterated that the EEU and the European Union are now moving in this direction. “We have already begun these steps in the economy, we are moving in this direction. Peter Spuhler [the head of the Swiss Stadler Retail Group] said he does not support these sanctions because they harm both Europeans and Russians. We have done something in the economics and you have noticed politicians are now talking about it, too,” he said.
While discussing the Ukrainian issue, politicians speak about dialogue between the EU and the EEU, he said. “Specifically, the foreign ministers of Germany, Russia and Belarus are already talking about it. It’s a normal format. But the discussion was initiated by the Germans. This means that something is changing in EU policies,” Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko said he considers all sanctions to be an obsolete method. “You know that they weren’t initiated by Europe. Europe loses a lot from that. However, Europe is apparently still too dependent on the other centers of force,” he said.
Lukashenko said he believes that, no matter how difficult it is, peace will eventually come to Ukraine and this sanctions process will end sooner or later.
Lukashenko also pointed out that the mutual ties, even at the level of relations between people, are too close. “Time will come when we will forget about these sanctions. But before we forget about them we will overcome them. Businessmen like Spuhler will overcome them. No one will make them leave the money they have invested here. No politician will do that, or they will not be politicians anymore, businessmen will not let them,” Lukashenko said.
