Lukashenko: we are not sponging off Russia
MINSK. April 21 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that Belarus insists on equal terms of work with Russia.
"It hurts us very much when someone in Russia tells us that we almost live at their expense and that we are again asking, begging for something and so on. Nothing of the kind. The Russian leadership doesn't think so," Lukashenko said on Friday answering questions from MPs. The president was quoted by his press service.
"We are not sponges," he said.
"Firstly, by supporting us you support yourself. Secondly, the only thing we want is to have equal conditions for operations [in the framework of EAEU]," he said.
Lukashenko said Belarus and Russia should come to agreement instead of arguing.
"It's not the time to argue, to aggravate things today. We should be agreeing because there is a heap of problems facing us and Russia. We can and should only tackle the problems together, starting with defense and ending with some 5 billion [in loans]," the president said.