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07 October 2019, 13:30

Makei: Belarus has no desire to be at the spearhead of a Russia-NATO standoff

MINSK, 7 October (BelTA) – Belarus does not want to find itself on a line of civilizational split and at the spearhead of a Russia-NATO standoff. Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei made the relevant statement during the Minsk Dialogue forum "European security: Stepping back from the brink" on 7 October, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Makei said: “One can see particularly clearly the danger of inaction and of the lack of political will to seek compromises from Belarus where European and Eurasian integration meet, where the border between NATO member states and CSTO member states lies, from a country close to Ukraine where the ongoing conflict continues taking human lives. Belarus does not want to find itself on a line of civilizational split and at the spearhead of a Russia-NATO standoff.”

The minister of foreign affairs stressed that Belarus has been, is, and will remain Belarusian. “We live in this land. One cannot move our country to some other space. We live in this region and want peace and calmness to reign here,” the diplomat stated.

Vladimir Makei remarked that Belarusians know what the status of a buffer zone may entail like no other nation. “We've learned this difficult lesson more than once in the course of our history,” the minister of foreign affairs added. “We sharply feel responsibility for the security of not only our own country, but Europe, too. Belarus' security is inextricably linked to the security of the continent. If Europe remains calm, there will be peace and stability in our country. And contrariwise.”

Vladimir Makei pointed out that the future of Belarusians depends a lot on whether allies and partners can come to terms with each other. “Due to this reason and while exploiting every opportunity Belarus persistently advocates dialogue and honest and open discussion about problems in the international scene,” the diplomat stressed.

Vladimir Makei noted he had recently taken part in a session of the UN General Assembly in New York. In his words, nothing changes from session to session: countries accuse each other, the level of trust between them is extremely low. “It is necessary to restore the negotiability of key players in their own eyes and the eyes of the rest of the world,” Vladimir Makei believes.

To make it happen, they need to be capable of coming to terms with each other about the things that do not provoke rejection in them first and then gradually move on to discussions about the so-called red lines. “I am convinced that taking into account the heavy weight of accumulated contradictions they should move towards each other gradually – from thematic partnerships as the least confrontational ones towards a global security partnership. They will not have to start from scratch. Such steps are already being made,” the Belarusian minister of foreign affairs stated.

As an example Vladimir Makei referred to the counterterrorism conference in Minsk which brought together member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the first time one month ago with a view to jointly working out approaches to counterterrorism matters.

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