President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko declared his readiness to discuss constitutional reform with the opposition. He spoke about this at the ceremony of presenting state awards on January 12. The Belarusian leader revealed what obstacles may interfere with the dialogue of citizens and power.
The authorities of Belarus are ready to negotiate with opposition politicians about constitutional changes. This was stated by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the award ceremony "for the spiritual revival", a special prize of cultural and art and the "Belarusian Sports Olympus" awards on Tuesday.
"We are ready to talk with any honest people, including the opposition, but not with traitors," Lukashenko quotes BelTA agency. "We are ready to conduct a dialogue with any opposition, on any issues, starting from constitutional changes and ending with the future of our Belarus," the president said.
At the same time, Lukashenko stressed that the authorities of Belarus "no one will stand on his knees." According to him, in this difficult period of time, the world becomes more aggressive, so it is important to "firmly stand on their land."
On the eve, Lukashenko stated that the draft of the new Constitution of Belarus could be ready by the end of 2021. I think that during the year we will be able to develop a draft new constitution. And I think that by the end of next year the draft of the new Constitution will be ready, "said the President in an interview with Russian journalists.
He also refused to talk about "innovations", which may be envisaged in the Constitution. "To the end, the main proposals for changes are not fully formed. This is first. Secondly, I marked some: about the redistribution of powers, about party construction. These are political issues. In the economy, we will leave a proposal that we have a socially oriented state, "said Lukashenko.
Recall, in December, the President signed a decree on the VI of the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, where, as expected, a draft change of the Constitution will be discussed. In accordance with the text of the document, the delegates on it should be people representing "all layers and groups of the population, the entire Belarusian people", the total number of participants and invited persons of the RAS will be 2,700 people. The meeting will be held February 11-12 and can become a "most important forum" in the history of the Belarusian people.
Read more about the All-Belarusian People's Assembly and Constitutional reform in Belarus, read in the "Eurasia.Expert" material.