MINSK, 2 September (BelTA) – Some political forces got jealous of U.S. President's National Security Advisor John Bolton's visit to Belarus while statements made by the Kremlin were calm and friendly, said Valery Voronetsky, Chairman of the International Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
The visit testifies to the strengthening role and influence of Belarus in regional and world politics. “When such visits take place and prove the strengthening of the country's influence and authority, there will always be political forces, and not only in Russia, that will not like it. These are our ill-wishers. Everyone is fighting for their influence and power. In Russia and not only there, there are those who do not like Belarus' strengthening influence in the region,” said Valery Voronetsky. The MP added that the Kremlin's reaction to John Bolton's visit to Belarus was calm and benevolent.
Valery Voronetsky thinks it is useless to look for pitfalls in the visit. John Bolton has recently visited Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. This shows the interest to the whole region. “Today, many, including in the United States, begin to understand that without Belarus' active role in the region it is difficult to ensure stability and security. We need to cooperate. What pitfalls can there be? None,” said the MP.
The visit of the US President's national security advisor to Belarus was initiated by the United States. “The country showed interest in improving the quality of relations. This shows that over the years our international authority has improved and our role as a donor of stability and security in the region has been noticed,” said Valery Voronetsky. He believes that the Belarusian-American relations will be gradually strengthening, and expressed hope that the United States will eventually abandon sanctions against Belarus, as the European Union has already done. “The United States began to understand that it is better to have a normal constructive dialogue with Belarus than to have a confrontation, which leads to nothing good,” the MP added.
The MP stated that Belarus has always stayed committed to a multipronged foreign policy which envisages the development of cooperation in various sectors and areas. He expressed a wish that the world would strengthen the understanding of the malignance and futility of the sanctions policy against any state. “We should talk not from the point of pressure and sanctions, but mutual understanding, trust and dialogue,” said the chairman of the Standing Committee.
As BelTA reported earlier, U.S. President's National Security Advisor John Bolton visited Belarus on 29 August. He met with the Belarusian head of state to discuss Belarus-United States relations and regional security.
