MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – Belarus hopes that the sanctions spiral will eventually be stopped and the dialogue with Berlin will return to a constructive footing, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Germany Denis Sidorenko said on the air of th STV TV channel, BelTA has learned.
“Today, unfortunately, our bilateral relations with Germany and the European Union as a whole are very difficult (to put it diplomatically). Nevertheless, we hope that the sanctions spiral will eventually be stopped and that the dialogue with Berlin and the EU, Brussels will return to a constructive footing, and that pragmatic cooperation that meets the interests of the two sides and is forward looking will resume," Ambassador Denis Sidorenko said.
According to him, despite all the disagreements, there are a number of thematic areas that are very important for bilateral relations. These are economic ties, cooperation on sustainable development, humanitarian and educational ties, a dialogue on historical memory. "All of this is important. We are trying to convince our German colleagues that this meets the interests of both sides, the interests of the citizens of our two countries," the ambassador said.
Ambassador Denis Sidorenko also commented on the attitude of German society to Victory Day. He noted that this year it is "ambiguous”. “Although it must be said that there is a consensus in German society that it was a common victory - Victory over fascism, over Nazism, including in Germany, and that is was liberation in Germany," he said. “Therefore, the attitude to this date is quite respectful and serious both at the level of the federal authorities and at the level of society, despite all the events taking place.”
The ambassador noted that the German authorities do respond to the cases of desecration of monuments. "In general, the German authorities have been taking its duty to upkeep Soviet memorials, monuments, war graves quite responsibly. Money is allocated for this. In cooperation with us, Russian colleagues, the necessary restoration work is supported and carried out," he said.
This year there have been several cases of vandalism at memorial complexes, including in Berlin. "The German authorities responded quite quickly. There was public condemnation of the incidents themselves. Round-the-clock watch has been organized over the memorial complexes to ensure, among other things that the events on 8-9 May should held without incidents and to prevent a possible repetition of what happened,” Ambassador Denis Sidorenko noted.
