OREANDA-NEWS. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who was inaugurated for a sixth presidential term on September 23, said on Thursday that Minsk is not obliged to notify anyone, including Western countries, about the ceremony in advance.

“Neighboring states, especially Poland – you know what position they have taken. Even after yesterday’s inauguration, there is some kind of resentment, or a claim that we did not inform the Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Czechs or anyone else that we will carry out this event. […] Well, in my opinion, according to the laws of Belarus, we should not warn anyone from Western states and anyone at all. This is an internal affair of our country,” the politician said.

He noted that the criticism of Western countries regarding the inauguration ceremony lies in its allegedly secret nature. “You know, about 2 thousand people were invited to the inauguration… And it is almost impossible to keep it secret,” he explained.