On December 23, Minsk /BELTA/. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko assured that Belarus will not deviate from a socially oriented economy. The Head of State stated this today at a press conference for representatives of Belarusian and foreign media, a BELTA correspondent reports. "I did not develop this economic model - it was you, the population of Belarus, who demanded a socially oriented economy from me, and I added - a market one," said the Head of State. "Why a market one? We need to compete, fight, and earn. Then there will be a socially oriented economy. You did not allow me to work using market methods." Alexander Lukashenko believes that "in any state - whether it has energy resources, raw materials or not - the economy must be socially oriented, otherwise there will be what is happening today in Greece, America, all over Europe - fights, bloodshed, shootings, and who knows what else will happen." "I want us to have a normal economy, with a human face," the Belarusian leader noted. "Therefore, there will be no deviation from a socially oriented economy." Regarding the assessment of the work of the government's economic bloc and the former leadership of the National Bank, the President is not inclined to blame the specialists for being incompetent. "This is incorrect, they possess not only the tools for implementing modern policy - they possess a set of many options for the country's development," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized. "They know everything, they propose, they make decisions. There are plenty of shortcomings - that is also true." "We are on the right track, I do not intend to break the country, the economy, and society today, we are able to calmly and purposefully overcome the negative," said Alexander Lukashenko. Politics does not tolerate hesitation, and in economics, this is completely unacceptable, the President summarized. -0-

BELTA