Russian vector unchanged: Belarus still closest ally of Moscow - Foreign Minister
Minsk keeps unchanged the foreign policy vector of alliance with Moscow, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey said at the beginning of negotiations with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
“There have been media rumors of some changes in foreign policy vectors,” state-run news agency TASS quotes Makey as saying. “As before, we regard Moscow the closest ally and partner and will always adhere to our concerted approaches.”
“The situation in the world is complicated, the one in our region, too,” Makey said. “I am certain that these days our cooperation in a constructive fashion in the international scene and within our integration structure — the Union State of Russia and Belarus, and other integration structures is greater demand than ever before.”
The Union State of Russia and Belarus is an important and much-in-demand format of cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed.
“We have a regular schedule of meetings and active contacts at all the levels — at the highest, among the heads of governments and ministers. We have true allied relations,” Lavrov said. “Direct contacts of the presidents are expected. [Belarusian President] Alyaksandr Lukashenka has accepted the invitation of Vladimir Putin to visit Ufa where the summits of BRICS and the SCO will be held.”
According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the parties have discussed the conflict in Ukraine and admitted that the Minsk Agreements is ‘the only viable instrument to solve the situation’.
“As far as the international positioning of EurAzEC is concerned, we must be more proactive. We believe that the prospect of creating a single economic area from Vladivostok to Lisbon is relevant, but it is impossible to artificially force events. We are ready to work on this idea,” Uladzimir Makey said.
At the reacent EaP summit in Riga, Belarus refused to recognize the annexation of Crimea during the negotiation of the final declaration.
