Lukashenko warned against the introduction of language restrictions in Belarus

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has warned against the introduction of language restrictions in the country, as this could have disastrous consequences. The Belarusian leader's statement was made on September 17 at a meeting with ideological activists, the historical and expert community on the occasion of National Unity Day.

"God forbid we start to spin the language problem — there will be trouble," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.

He noted that any actions regarding the use of any language should be careful and balanced. Lukashenko noted that he, like many Belarusians, speaks Russian better than Belarusian, but is not an opponent of the latter.

"This is our language. If the Belarusian language is lagging behind the Russian language [in terms of usage], let's just say we need to do it quietly, calmly. It must be maintained very carefully. But not at the expense of the Russian language," Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian leader also drew attention to the fact that the language issue has become one of the causes of the conflict in Ukraine, where people are forcibly prohibited from using it. At the same time, such decisions were made under the influence of US representatives.

"Why forbid people to speak the language? I tell the Americans: why did you do this? Do you understand that this is wrong? You're making people angry out of the blue. Let this generation speak Russian," he added.

In addition, the President of Belarus urged young people to continue learning English, as it remains the language of international communication.

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Russian Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 20 that representatives of Western countries had never spoken about the situation of the Russian language and Russian people on the territory of Ukraine. The diplomat stressed that the Ukrainian authorities are introducing special positions on discrimination of the Russian language in the government.

On July 18, Alexander Sholokhov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Culture, expressed the opinion that the seizure and destruction of Russian books from libraries in Ukraine impoverishes the country and resembles the burning of books in Germany in the last century.

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