Lukashenka gives press conference for official Belarusian mass media
Lukashenka has informed that the IMF asked to devalue the ruble by 25%: “We devalued it by 56%”.
The press conference took 5 hours 17 minutes.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka has started answering questions during the second hour but his answers are evasive.
Here are some quotations from Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s speech:
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About the IMF’s credit: "We create no illusions. We have done everything the IMF needed, even twice as much”.
"They suggested devaluation by 25% - we devalued by 56%”.
"There is no reason not to give us credits. Only the political ones”.
"They have told me that they need guarantees from the President. It means I should guarantee the things that the National Bank and government will promise”.
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Lukashenka has informed Maryna Zolatava from TUT.BY that the Internet is not that bad: “There are a lot of useful things on the Internet. However, bandits can use it too. The terrorist act started on the Internet: he downloaded a lot of materials from it.”
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"It is too honourable to keep them in prisons. They are too bad for prisons! There are decent people in prisons!”
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About Nyaklyayeu: "He came to the silent ones. Let them ask him where he was on December 19 when he urged everyone to go to the Square? He hid under a blanket in hospital! They couldn’t get him out...”
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"We only have 2 or 3 political prisoners: Sannikau, Us and Statkevich. Why 180? This is the information our fifth column gives them”.
"I have the right to pardon. But it is not a duty!”
"Maybe we need speculators if people are ready to buy. But we should get used to domestic precuts in this situation; we need less import to overcome the crisis. The main reason for all the situations in the country is the fact that we buy more than we sell”.
"We have looked through the keyhole. There is half a ton of petrol in every garage!”
"Do we all drink coffee? Do we have it here? We don’t… the Vietnamese taught us a lesson in the Soviet time when they used rice to pay us for tanks… This is the last year we suffer [about the lack of buckwheat]. Every Belarusian should eat buckwheat”.
"I am waiting for information about the last six months, for statistic information… There is no information and no analysis… (it will be ready on July 1). It will allow taking stricter measures… it will be possible to press some levers then… Five thousand dollars is too high an exchange rate for our country”.
"Many people are saying: who is to blame for it? Why haven’t you decapitated them so far?.. Do not make me bend, dear friends… I will do it if they are guilty…”.
"I am not going to mention the states that have ordered satellites here and we are making them… It will be billions of dollars… We were walking and suddenly stumbled…”.
"Belaruskali" is one of the most valuable enterprises… We are even ready to privatize it. The terms have been indicated: the workers should not be fired, their wages should increase every year, the enterprise should be modernized… Why should I be against privatization? I’m not!”
"Who will buy [“Belaruskali”]? Do you have money for the privatization? “Belaruskali” costs 30 billion dollars. Do you have this money??? Know-alls have calculated that the population has 20 billions. Tell me, who will buy these enterprises then? You know who is out to get all our enterprises nowadays.”
"Who will give me a trillion dollars to change the structure of the economy? The structure has been being created in Belarus for at least 100 years…”.
"What happened in Belarus when the whole world was moaning because of the crisis, when millions of people found themselves in the streets aground? It was calm; we did not notice the crisis. Do you think it was easy?.. We did a lot for it”.
"Officials are jabbering away: pull in your belts… They could not be prating more. We should not pull in our belts in this situation. We have been heading this way and we will continue doing it”.
"They are trying to shatter Belarus in different ways now. Including the dustbin called “Internet”. It is a new approach tested in our countries”.
"The press conference is included in the President’s six-month schedule. We suggested postponing or cancelling it in connection with the difficult financial and economic situation in the country. But the state leader has left it in his schedule and is disposed to an open and unconcealed conversation with journalists”, - stressed Alyaksandr Radzkou, senior deputy head of the President’s Administration.
Lukashenka will comment on “the issues of the day citizens are worried about” at the meeting with journalists, informs BelTA.
Photo by: en.rian.ru
