MINSK, 23 December (BelTA) – President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is confident that Belarus will handle new challenges of today. The President made this statement at a press conference for Belarusian and foreign mass media on 23 December, BelTA has learnt. As he opened the press conference, the head of state said that the very status of a President, the most public politician in the country, envisages active communication with mass media. “I am trying to follow this rule, and I have never evaded direct answers to direct questions,” the Belarusian leader said. “This year has raised a lot of issues, particularly in the economy. We had to deal with these issues. The year was difficult not only for us, but also for the entire global economy. Be it economy or politics, every country, in one way or another, has faced the crisis,” the Belarusian President said. “Things were very difficult for Belarusians. They are not easy now. But today I have reason to assert that, in general, we will cope with the new challenge. We now see the positive trends and it is very important to maintain them and develop further. For this we will have to work harder. Then we will be able to ensure qualitative increase in the living standards of our people,” the head of state said.

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