Lukashenko said Putin praised Belarus for preserving the Soviet heritage

MINSK, October 2 – RIA Novosti. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the Belarusians for preserving the Soviet economic heritage in the republic.

“We have preserved all this... President Putin once told me: “You are great for preserving what you inherited from the Soviet Union,” Lukashenko said at a meeting with the heads of government delegations participating in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Minsk.

According to him, the basis of the Belarusian economy was formed in Soviet times. "We're not destroying anything. We do not show that we are smarter than what was created in those days. I often say that without the Soviet Union, no matter how “weak” we were, not a single issue in the world could be resolved,” Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko noted that, for example, mechanical engineering, which is now actively developing in Belarus, is also a legacy of Soviet times. “Belarus is a machine-building country, first and foremost, and we didn’t invent this, Lukashenko didn’t create this: it was like that in the Soviet Union,” the president said.

He emphasized that as a result, developing and enhancing the Soviet heritage, Belarus today can do a lot and produces everything necessary for the country. In this regard, Lukashenko noted that Minsk does “a little less” in the defense industry, and therefore purchases only Russian weapons, and the Russian government often lends to the republic for military purchases. However, he stated that the Belarusian military-industrial complex does a lot itself, especially taking into account the experience of the Ukrainian conflict.

The Belarusian president noted that a common market was formed in the Soviet Union, and Minsk also takes this into account. “We haven’t ruined anything... We are committed first of all to our post-Soviet market... Don’t lose what you have. Don't rush away from this. Believe me, they are not waiting for us anywhere,” the head of state called on the prime ministers of the EAEU countries.

“We did not cut off the roots from the times when the foundations of our economy were laid,” Lukashenko said.