National News

Lukashenko: Europe needs true leaders

Europe needs true leaders, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he toured Traktor Stadium in Minsk on 14 November, BelTA has learned.

The head of state was asked to comment on the situation in Europe: whether the EU is capable of acting independently of the United States and developing relations with Russia?

“Maybe Europe will be capable of it when it gets its own Trumps. For now they have no such leaders. Just take a look. I do not want to judge anyone but the situation is not good. Today the United States is wiping the floor with Scholz, a ‘political lightweight’. These are not my words. He is a representative of his people: the Germans elected him. Europe lacks true leaders today. They love to posture but immediately back off when it comes to making difficult decisions. Europe will surely have its own Charles de Gaulle again,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “It will have its own [former chancellor of Germany Helmut] Kohl. [Former President of France Jacques] Chirac was a great leader. There are no such leaders now. The current ones are afraid of taking action.”

“What is there to be wary about: cheap resources in Russia, technology in Germany. Their automotive and aviation industries are falling apart. This is what Europe has been brought to. Instead we could have worked together. Such decisions are needed. Europe has matured for this. Europe needs true leaders who will make decisions and take action,” the president stressed.

According to him, Russia is also ready for such steps. “Why should we - Belarusians, Russians – be at odds with them? We turned the page on World War Two, the Great Patriotic War with millions of victims. We should have moved forward, but they decided to follow the United States. They think they will be able to sit it out there. They will not. It is a very complicated situation. But everything is moving towards solving it. We just need a little patience and time,” the Belarusian leader said.

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