Russia is beginning to realize the futility of attempts to pressure Belarus - A. Lukashenko

April 14, Mozyr District / Vladimir Vasilkov - BELTA /. Russia is beginning to realize the erroneousness of attempts to pressure Belarus. This opinion was expressed today by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, answering journalists' questions, BELTA correspondent reports. "I think Russia understands that a grave mistake was made - attempts to pressure Belarus. This is unpromising," the Belarusian leader stressed. "And I am sure that the President of Russia is beginning to realize this very clearly today." According to Alexander Lukashenko, his next meeting with Dmitry Medvedev will most likely take place in May. "Dmitry Anatolyevich and I have recently spoken on the phone several times, and he directly said: it's time for us to meet, to talk, many issues have accumulated, sometimes superficial ones, which we are capable of resolving. I fully supported his point of view. And currently, the heads of presidential administrations are working out the optimal meeting dates. It may take place on the eve of the informal CIS summit in Moscow on May 8, perhaps at the end of May or early June, as we usually met in Sochi," the head of state said. During the meeting with his Russian counterpart, the President of Belarus intends to discuss the prospects of Russian capital participation in the privatization of Belarusian enterprises. In addition, strategic issues of the development of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia will be considered. "I want to clearly understand what exactly Russia and Kazakhstan want from the CU and what our country will gain from such a union," the Belarusian leader noted. "If it involves constant exceptions, duties on oil, gas, and so on, then Belarus's interest in such a union will be halved." In addition, Alexander Lukashenko intends to discuss with Dmitry Medvedev the issues of access of Belarusian enterprises' products to the Russian market. "In principle, it is already quite clear that blocking our goods in the Russian market has led to very negative results for the Russians themselves," the head of the Belarusian state remarked. He reiterated that Russia's blocking policy is completely unpromising: Belarus has proven that it is capable of entering other, alternative markets and creating domestic import-substituting production. "It makes no sense for us to quarrel with Russia. We are not playing games with anyone. But if they start kicking us and pushing us in the back, we look for happiness elsewhere on the planet," the President noted. Belarus is capable of moving away from energy dependence on Russia for oil and gas. "Our recent agreements with Venezuela are evidence of this," Alexander Lukashenko added. "The main thing is that the upcoming meeting with the President of Russia yields concrete results," the Belarusian leader said. "What is it when the Russian side imposes a duty on the import of oil products into Belarus? The second question is why they imposed a duty on oil for us, but not for Kazakhstan, a country that has surplus oil? Why such an attitude towards Belarusians? I believe the President of Russia himself understands that this is a too egregious example." "The time has come to talk very seriously about the prospects of our relations with Russia," Alexander Lukashenko concluded. -0-