MINSK, 30 June (BelTA) - The world is much more than just the collective West, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told the media after his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Minsk on 30 June, BelTA has learned.
“A very important area of work is mutual assistance in strengthening and developing relations with third countries. The world is much more than just the collective West, and today we are actively moving where we will be welcome to conduct a constructive and equal dialogue,” the minister said.
With regard to the international agenda, Vladimir Makei expressed regret that Western countries do not leave attempts to limit interaction with Russian and Belarusian officials and, where possible, suspend the membership of Belarus and Russia in various international organizations, up to and including their expulsion. “In these harsh political realities our countries have already strengthened coordination, including through specialized agencies. We are developing coordinated positions in a timely manner, including with our other common partners in the international arena,” the minister said.
He expressed gratitude to his Russian colleagues for their comprehensive advisory assistance in matters related to the possible expansion of Belarus' participation in multilateral formats: “We discussed this topic in detail today. Thanks to Russia's constructive position, good prospects are opening up for us in the interaction with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We are interested in various statuses to be present in other constructive alliances as well.
