Lukashenko to athletes: If you win against Russia, we will be in chocolate
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko called on Belarusian athletes not to be upset that they are not allowed to participate in international competitions - and to focus on victories over their Russian colleagues.
He stated this at a meeting with employees of the Minsk airport, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Why will it (level - ed.) drop if you beat one country - Russia. If you win against Russia, we will be in chocolate, and we will pay you, we will support you, and so on. The Russians are our main competitors today. And we haven’t reached them yet. They are in first place and they have two or three times more gold medals. Therefore, there are no problems for athletes. Go, train and win,” Lukashenko said.
He believes that Belarusians are not allowed to participate in competitions because Western athletes are afraid of competition, and called for waiting for competitions within the BRICS framework.
“Sooner or later they will be forced to return us to the international championship. If only in BRICS, we will immediately join these competitions. And many countries will join. And the Olympic movement that exists now (Bach leads) will fall apart. Because everyone is fighting for money - advertising. And the more viewers – one and a half billion in India and China – that’s advertising, that’s money. Therefore, they are not fools there at the IOC either. They understand that a few more steps like this and they will ruin this movement,” Lukashenko concluded.
Lukashenko to athletes: If you beat Russia, we'll be in the chocolate