Lukashenka meets with EBRD rep: Belarus ready for cooperation, but only on beneficial terms

Foreign business partners put high value on Belarus’ honesty, president Alexander Lukashenka said at Thursday’s meeting with Alain Pilloux, Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

According to Lukashenka, Belarus is ready to continue cooperating with the EBRD. At the same time, Belarus has never promised to do anything it cannot do to its European partners.

“We will not humble ourselves, we will not deceive you. If we promise to do something, we will do our best to fulfill the obligations,” the president said.

However, the Belarusian side will not implement projects that do not benefit the state, he stressed.

“People elected us to protect the interests of the state. But we are absolutely not against private business, responsible business which prioritizes the interests of the state and is not trying to line its pockets only,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Alyaksandr Lukashenka as saying.

Referring to lifting sanctions against Belarus, he noted that the country is now able to conduct a more open dialogue with the bloc. “It is a good signal and factor for you and for us. We can expand our cooperation. The main thing is that Belarus is prepared for it,” the Belarusian leader said.

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Belsat.eu, following BelTA