Today more and more people in the world are talking about socialism, while Belarus has never abandoned it, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he commissioned a world-class swimming pool in Minsk on 6 November, BelTA has learned.

According to the head of state, one of the things that Belarus and China have in common is respect for the history of the socialist movement. “Today, more and more people are talking about socialism. Yet, I remember that such ideas were denigrated in the mid-1990s.”

“True, this is still a swear word in America. Trump who has won the presidential election would accuse Kamala Harris of being a socialist and a communist using these words as a slur. Trump is a die-hard capitalist, a billionaire,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The Belarusian leader emphasized that he sees nothing wrong with socialism. “Yet, there was a time when this notion was besmirched. We did not go this way. And what do we see now? All of Europe has started to embrace socialism. Maybe, they do not call it by its name, but they are talking about social justice. Right from the onset, we announced plans to build a welfare state. This is the main principle of socialism, and our Chinese friends have never abandoned this. They follow the main principles of capitalism under the banners of socialism,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

For example, competition is very developed there. “We need to proceed from the realities on the ground,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

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