“And we know how to cut bread in two,” Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko quipped on Friday about the departure of the American fast food group McDonald’s from his country, where it will be replaced by a Russian brand, reports Agerpres.

From November 22, McDonald’s fast food restaurants in Belarus will operate under the name “Vkusno y Totsika” – a Russian chain that absorbed the American group’s restaurants in Russia. No explanation was given.

“Thank God he’s leaving,” Oleksandr Lukashenko responded on Friday during a meeting with employees of the agri-food sector. “We have to do ourselves what McDonald’s used to do,” he said.

“And we know how to cut bread in half and put a piece of meat, French fries and salad inside,” said the Belarusian president.

The KSB Victory Restaurants franchise, which operates McDonald’s restaurants in Belarus, announced on November 11 that it would soon change its name to Vkusno y Totsika, as in Russia.

The Russian chain “Vkusno i Totsika”, which absorbed McDonald’s restaurants in Russia (Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP / Profimedia)

The first restaurants of this brand opened their doors in Russia on June 12, replacing McDonald’s, which left the country in response to Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, which began on February 24.

Dozens of other Western brands have done the same, such as Coca-Cola or H&M and Ikea.

Belarus is Russia’s only ally in this conflict, having placed its territory at the disposal of the Russian army for an ultimately unsuccessful attack on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

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