MINSK, June 4. /TASS/. The West’s actions in relation to Belarus are an assault on Russia and a manifestation of competition between countries, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday.

"We need to pull ourselves together and hold our ground. You see that a huge assault is happening, an assault on Russia, but you cannot leap over us, and we cannot become [another] Ukraine. We cannot fight against Russia, or the Russian people. These are our people, that is why this assault is taking place," BelTA news agency quotes Lukashenko as saying during his trip to the Brest Region.

According to the Belarusian president, the second reason for the West’s hostile moves is competition. "Last year, the world contracted amid this Covid [pandemic], and there is not enough room for everyone. So, we must weather the storm, whatever the cost. As for the government and the president, don’t worry about us: we will do our job," Lukashenko vowed.

"This is, first and foremost, ordinary competition," the president noted. According to Lukashenko, that is the reason for the sanctions against his country’s flagship carrier, Belavia.

Due to the Ryanair plane incident, the EU’s recent summit banned Belarusian air carriers from flying to EU airports and performing flights over its territory and advised European airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace. As many as 21 countries have closed their airspace to the Belarusian air carrier.