MINSK, 1 November (BelTA) – Belarus does not ask for impossible decisions from its Western partners, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov told a press conference after a meeting with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Minsk on 31 October, BelTA has learned.
When asked about the possibility of establishing sustainable peace in the European region, the minister pointed out that it is difficult to build up cooperation with an EU member state today. Hungary should comply with the EU requirements while developing relations with Belarus and meeting its own national interests. As it is known, the EU has imposed many rounds of sanctions against Belarus.
"Our position is not to ask for impossible things from our partners. We never ask to go above their remit or beyond the EU requirements, which may be damaging for Hungary. Therefore, we are looking for cooperation opportunities in the niches not affected by the sanctions policy," the minister said.
"Unfortunately, our closest neighbors (Lithuania, Latvia), having such an opportunity, go far and beyond the EU sanctions and apply severe measures against our country and our citizens, which is very hard to explain. If they really cared about their citizens and their countries, like Hungary does, they would work on the matters that unite us and give us a basis for cooperation," Maksim Ryzhenkov stated.
However, Belarus’ European neighbors prefer to destroy whatever we have had. According to the minister, in this way they try to be, as they say, holier-than-thou, even more "democratic" than the whole European Union, which has been building its system for many years.
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