NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 28 August (BelTA) - At the request of journalists the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the statement of Ukrainian colleagues on the suspension of contacts with Belarus, BelTA has learned.
“We have carefully studied numerous statements made in recent days by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Belarus. We fully share the thesis about the inadmissibility of any interference in the internal affairs of Belarus. This postulate is unshakable for us. At the same time we view assessments of Belarus' interaction with its allies and partners in integration associations and urgent calls for a new presidential election as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs,” said Anatoly Glaz, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It appears that the leadership of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contradicts itself, Anatoly Glaz said. “It is hard for us to see this, especially since Belarus has never questioned, even in very difficult years for our Ukrainian friends, the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the right of the people to choose their own ways of development. We have not participated, in any way, in inciting instability in Ukraine, or limited contacts with Ukrainian friends at any level,” Anatoly Glaz noted.
“On the contrary, we have approached (and will continue doing so) the cooperation with all our neighbors, especially Ukraine, carefully and prudently so that we would not have to cite emotions and geopolitical environment to excuse our mistakes,” he stressed.
The assurance of non-interference and the simultaneous public acknowledgment of coordinating the position with the EU and the United States, which the Ukrainian minister of foreign affairs clearly spoke about at a briefing on 28 August, look odd at least, Anatoly Glaz noted. “In our view, it clearly demonstrates limits of independence in decision-making despite the fact that our countries are bound by deep ties at all levels based primarily on good neighborliness and blood kinship, which the Ukrainian minister of foreign affairs mentioned after all,” Anatoly Glaz said.
“Belarus has not put the dialogue with Ukraine on a so-called pause. It is not as simple as pushing a button on a recorder. It is a certain damage to close diverse relations between the two neighboring states. The responsibility for possible consequences of this step lies with Ukraine and, as we see it, with its senior foreign policy partners,” Anatoly Glaz stressed.
Belarus is willing to continue cooperation at all levels to the extent Ukraine and the friendly brotherly Ukrainian nation deem appropriate, he said.
“The Belarusian state will not let foreign countries decide its fate again. Belarusians, like no other nation, have learned their historic lessons well. In the current situation, the reputation of the independent and sovereign state is built upon informed, unbiased, and independent decisions for the benefit one's own nation and the stability in the region rather than ambitions and attempts to follow some trends,” Anatoly Glaz added.
