MINSK, December 18. /TASS/. The system of gold and foreign exchange reserves risks becoming unnecessary, as the West may simply seize them or declare them illegal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said while delivering his address to the nation and parliament at a session of the 7th All-Belarusian People’s Assembly.
"These massive currency reserves — trillions across the world, from China to the Emirates and elsewhere — could turn out to be useless tomorrow, especially given the policies pursued by the previous US administration. And the current one has not departed from them either. They have laid their hands on — and at any moment can lay their hands on — any gold and foreign exchange reserves, declare them illegal, and simply steal them," Lukashenko said.
He added that Belarus currently holds a record level of gold and foreign exchange reserves and suggested rethinking the strategy for managing international reserve assets. "Is there really a need to maintain such volumes as dictated to us by Western systems?" Lukashenko concluded.