Belarus has come under massive pressure, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said in his annual state of the nation address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly on 21 April, BelTA reported
"We are a young sovereign state, which pursues independent foreign and domestic policies, and they want to 'bend' us, and get us dance to someone else's tune. At first there were political threats: non-recognition of the results of the last presidential elections, travel ban, economic sanctions. Then there were attempts to spread panic on the currency and food markets on the tip of the national and foreign "analysts". And, finally, there was this 'blatant dance on the grave' in relation to the recent events at Oktyabrskaya metro station. All these are in fact the links of one chain," the President said.
"It is clear that someone is eager to destabilize the country, sow chaos and distrust of people in the current government in order to tighten a stranglehold over the country, let off the leash for a direct interference with the internal affairs and dictate their will to the Belarusian people," the head of state stressed.