Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has urged Belarusian citizens to cherish peace.
“We have been covered by a wave of consumerism, as our church leaders
aptly said. We are letting our fundamental spiritual values go without
the slightest pressure, and we are forgetting things which we must never
forget,” Lukashenko said at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Minsk
on Sunday. “The trials that have befallen our brothers in Ukraine are an
illustration of this,” he said.
“What is happening in Ukraine today is too bad. We will be doing all
we can, of course, to help Ukraine restore peace. This great Slavic
nation, the forbearer of Holy Rus, deserves peace,” he said.
“We talked much a year ago about the so-called Arab Spring, and about
Syria, where a war is raging. I said then in an address to the
Belarusian citizens: Don’t be deluded into thinking that this is far
away from us. The world is too small for us to claim that this is
happening far from us. Look what has happened! This is going on – not
just at our doorstep, but inside,” Lukashenko said.
“I am not trying to paint the picture in black colors. Belarusians
are not the kind of people to be manipulated. I am saying all this for
you to understand the great truth yet again: nothing is more important
in the world than peace and tranquility. Only in peace can we live
tranquilly, build our lives and pray,” the Belarusian president said.
“I do hope we will never have to spend days, from morning till night,
praying for peace on the streets enveloped in flames. Let us cherish
peace now, before it is gone. And let us thank God for the sacred gift
of peace in our lives,” Lukashenko said.
