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Coronavirus pandemic

Global actors may use coronavirus to reshape world without war — Belarus’ president

Lukashenko recalled the UN proposal to print 10% of global GDP worth of money to fight the economic ramifications of the coronavirus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko

© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MINSK, April 2. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that global actors might use the coronavirus to reshape the world without a war, the president said in an interview with the Mir broadcasting company Thursday.

According to the president, many people already ask the main question: what will be after the pandemic? "Don’t you have an impression that the powers that be <...> would like to reshape the world without a war through this so-called coronavirus psychosis, the infodemic?" the president asked, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron had already called the pandemic a war.

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He recapped the UN proposal to print 10% of global GDP worth of money to fight the economic consequences of the coronavirus. "This is empty money. The US dollar continues to devalue as it is, and this [printing] will spark a tidal wave of inflation. It is clear where [Belarus] will end up with its ruble," Lukashenko noted. "Even more: who will get these trillions, where will they end up? Would this not lead to the rich becoming even richer and the poor becoming even poorer? It would."

According to Lukashenko, world nations, including Belarus, are being forced to "stop, sit down and eat through their modest currency reserves."

"We cannot say that even Russia has huge reserves. We neither. Then, after printing 10% of the GDP, those who remain upright, will come to you and tell you: here’s a small bit, but, in exchange, you will do as you are told. This is how the world could be reshaped," the president believes.

Lukashenko underscored that he is worried about his country’s future, and this is why he tries to look ahead. "Everyone says: after the pandemic the world will be different, and I agree with that," he stated. "But where will our place in this new world be? This is the main question for me, not this coronapsychosis, not the infodemic."

According to the president, this issue will soon become pressing for everyone. "[It will become pressing] for Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, rich in natural resources; even more — for Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and for [Lithuanian President Gitanas] Nauseda, who seeks to doubt the politics of the Belarusian president. I am afraid we all will be divided without war," Lukashenko went on.

He explained why he insists that the Belarusian industry keeps working amid the pandemic. "Because I can imagine what will happen to us after this pandemic, if we stop, like many: the Lithuanians, the Latvians and other," Lukashenko said. "They will endure. Russia has oil and gas that the whole world needs today. China has huge economic capacities. The US has a money printer: they throw in two trillions and another two are already underway."

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