MINSK, 12 December (BelTA) - Belarus has always sought to have a belt of good-neighborliness and normal relations with its neighbors, spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Glaz said in the commentary for the media, BelTA learned.
“Belarus has always sought to have a belt of good-neighborliness and normal relations with its neighbors. We have not started the aggravation or escalation. We have not only preached this philosophy but also acted on it. Take at least the visa-waiver for citizens of neighboring countries, which, according by the decision of the Belarusian president, will remain in place next year as well. We recognize the importance of normal trade and economic relations, normal border crossing terms, transit, cooperation in other practical areas with Lithuania for our people and business. Belarus is always ready to respond positively to any constructive step of its neighbors,” Anatoly Glaz said.
He emphasized that Belarusians have absolutely normal relations with Lithuanians themselves: “They visit us, we go visit them. People trade, communicate, start families and want to live normally.
“What should politicians do in this situation? Of course, to support and facilitate such aspirations of their people. However, the outgoing government acted clearly contrary to these obvious interests. Some actors, in favor of their greedy interests, did their outmost to do harm. The last parliamentary elections clearly showed that Lithuanians are against it, they want changes, they need a completely different government. As a result, the citizens of the country, who had miraculously endured the four-year rule of the conservatives, made their choice in favor of other political forces,” Anatoly Glaz said.
According to him, in the new government there are people capable of taking a different view on ways to solve Lithuania's internal problems, on the country’s positioning in the world, including its relations with Belarus or, for example, with China. “They could take a critical look at the scale of damage caused by the conservatives to Lithuania and its people. Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maksim Ryzhenkov spoke about this as he recently addressed residents of Lithuania as true sovereignty holders with a proposal to sort things out reasonably and speak up for civilized communication with their neighbors. We see that Lithuanians think the same way,” Anatoly Glaz said.
He also stated that the modern European democracy is just the facade. In practice the popularly elected democratic forces are not allowed to govern. “A number of political leaders were not allowed into the new government. Anti-Belarusian and anti-Russian narratives were forced into the program from outside. All this will drive the social and economic situation in Lithuania into an even deeper crisis aggravating the current problems, for example, energy, prices, infrastructure, unemployment, population outflow, healthcare,” Anatoly Glaz pointed out.
He believes that this will have a negative impact on the welfare, comfort and security of Lithuanians. “As a result, the Lithuanian people might have to say their word again and their word might be stronger next time. Belarus will always support true people's democracy,” the spokesman summarized.
