MINSK, 5 August (BelTA) – Public consensus on national interests helps the state calmly weather the period of global transformations, Founder and Director of the Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations Yauheni Preiherman said during a discussion dedicated to the Belarusian president's annual address as part of the Expert Community joint project of BelTA and the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR) on 5 August.
The address gave the right assessment of the risks facing all the countries of the world, including Belarus. “It is very important to set out priorities and identify risks in the international environment. It is good that this is done in the right way. However, at the same time, the history of international relations suggests that foreign policy instruments alone are not enough for a country to counter threats and risks. When a state functions well and there is an absolute consensus in the society regarding national interests and the ways they should be advanced, even more vulnerable states are capable of successfully weathering transformation periods,” Yauheni Preiherman said.
“However, if there are splits in the society, no foreign policy instruments and right strategies can make up for them. Unfortunately, the things we are witnessing during the ongoing presidential election suggest that there are problems,” he noted.
According to the expert, for a long time there was some rift in the Belarusian society between people having different values. This rift has grown deeper. “The first thing we need to think about is what to do with the deepening rift, emotional tensions that are pushing people to the streets. The address contained several important theses on this matter. It mentioned the constitutional reform. There are some ideas about it, however everything will depend on the proposals that will be put forward by stakeholders, including the public,” Yauheni Preiherman said.
