This is only the beginning! Everyone will be tested for their strength - Lukashenko's resonant statements at CIS summit in Astana

The CIS has everything to minimize dependence on the global turmoil and unfriendly steps of the aggressive states.

This statement was made by the Belarusian President at the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Astana. Alexander Lukashenko had a very rich program in the capital of Kazakhstan. In addition to his participation in international forums, he had a series of bilateral talks. Only urgent issues were discussed, including those of the entire CIS.

Everyone will be tested for their strength! Recent developments only confirm this. No one today is immune from hybrid attacks. At the same time there is a deficit of mutual support in this tense situation. This was said by Alexander Lukashenko to his CIS counterparts.

As for Belarus, we are not interested in any escalation of the situation. Both in security and economy, we are only defending the country and our national interests.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus:

"A real hybrid war has been launched against all of us. And Ukraine is just a pretext for that. The intentions of some countries to take revenge for the lost campaigns of the last century have been hatched for a long time, since the first days after the victory in the Great Patriotic War, or maybe even earlier. Today, Russia and Belarus are at the edge of the economic and financial attacks. But I think, everybody here understands, that the true aims of western strategists is much wider: to divide the Eurasian space into sectors of influence and use our countries as raw materials and industrial appendages."

Today, neither Europe, nor Washington needs a strong Eurasia. That's why hybrid attacks again and again burst out in the CIS countries. Techniques of color revolutions have been unpacked for a long time. We need to be prepared for all kinds of provocations along the entire perimeter of the CIS.

"The recent events in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are convincing and very instructive examples. But this is only the beginning. Everyone will be tested for their strength. So far, alas, I have to admit the absence of mutual support in some cases," said the head of state. He noted that the principled national positions still hamper effective joint opposition to the sanctions pressure of the West. He also noted that in the post-Soviet space there are still many interethnic and territorial disputes, which the Soviet Union could not or did not have time to resolve. Today, external players are making tremendous efforts to turn every dispute, even the most minor one, into a heated confrontation."