Belarus accuses Russian ambassador of destroying relations during last several months
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus commented on the Russian Ambassador Mikhail Babich’s statements, who objected to the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko with regards to the cost of building the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
External forces have previously tried to “destroy the close and friendly relations between two brotherly nations,” told reporters Anatoly Glaz, the head of the department of information and digital diplomacy of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry stressed that what external forces “failed” to achieve during decades, Mr. Babich “successfully and effectively destroyed in just a few months”.
According to the diplomat, Ambassador Babich "does not see any difference between the Russian federal district, where, as we were told, he liked to share his moral teachings left and right, and an independent state." Glaz stressed that in his statement Babich absolutely “clearly expressed” his views on Belarus independence.
On Friday, during the annual speech to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly the president Lukashenko and deputy Anna Kanopatskaya started a discussion. The MP drew attention to the Babich’s announcement that Moscow reduced the price for the construction of a nuclear power plant, which the subsidiary of Rosatom (Russian State Nuclear Agency), Atomstroyexport is building in the Grodno region. To this Lukashenko replied that he “hears about it for the first time.” “The ambassador probably does not know the math,” said the President of Belarus. According to him, Russia did not reduce the price, and if Babich makes such statements, he only “harms himself”. Lukashenko added that the cost of the project should not be disclosed since it is a commercial secret. At the same time, he added that the cost of the project has really decreased from $10 billion to $7 billion due to the stringent cost control during construction by the Belarusian side.
Babich said that Lukashenko was misled by the opposition. He stated that neither he nor other Russian officials had disclosed the final cost of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. “Unfortunately, the history of our partners teaches nothing. We have to admit that the Belarusian president was deceived again,” said Babich. In his opinion, the Kanopatskaya’s questions could have been specifically "orchestrated".