Lukashenko on checks at Russian border: Freedom of movement for people must be ensured

The leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, expressed his opinion on ensuring freedom of movement across the border between Belarus and Russia. He said this during a meeting with the Governor of the Smolensk Region of the Russian Federation, Vasily Anokhin, BELTA reports.

The head of state noted that even from the example of his small homeland and that region, he knows how closely the residents of Belarus and the neighboring Smolensk Region communicate with each other. Russians often come to shop or even take a dip in the Trofimova Krinitsa, which was once built by Alexander Lukashenko's grandfather. "A whole line. Where from? From the Smolensk Region. Even more than Belarusians. I am always happy about this," the President noted. "Orsha, Smolensk - these were inseparable lands. We were always friends and cooperated with each other. In sports, we played football, we always had teams - a village with a village, it happened. Therefore, for me, your region is very close and familiar." "But for everything to be normal, we need to ensure freedom of movement for people. When they tell me that somewhere there on the border with the Smolensk Region someone is checking someone, detaining them, I feel sick. Why are we checking each other? If someone needs to bypass our posts, they will go around a thousand times. They know all these paths," the head of state said.