Lukashenko laments over Chavez and Belarus’ imagine in West

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko dished out his thoughts on the late president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez and how the West views Lukashenko as having a dictator-like style. In his interview with Russian TV, he said that “Hugo Chavez worked hard to unite developing states. His contribution was really great, and I was lucky to have worked with him on this track.”
At the same time though Lukashenko made it clear that in the Non-Aligned Movement, they were not able to get past the centrifugal forces and that he would not overestimate their efforts, commenting that Chavez made plenty of progress in that area.

Not only had progress been made thanks to Chavez, but perhaps inspiration. “He shook up Latin America – almost all the leaders there are left-wing, and they all came to pay their last respects to Chavez. This is a very clear proof of his legacy. Latin America now boasts unique and strong leaders,” Lukashenko told RT in an interview.

On his imagine in the West, Lukashenko has been coined ‘Europe’s last dictator’. He took this title lightly but also had his concerns. “Of course, somewhere deep inside it stirs my feelings - though that's not because they say it about me, but because I feel sorry for those who actually believe it when they say it, as they don't even know that they are deluded about the reality and the person they're talking about,” said Lukashenko to RT.

Being a leader doesn’t come without a price, Chavez knew that, and so does Lukashenko. “They said all sorts of things about him [Chavez], but when he died you saw what validation he got. And that was the real validation,” explained Lukashenko, RT reports.