Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 26 February (BelTA) – It is important for the parliaments of Belarus and Ukraine to establish an active systematic dialogue, Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Boleslav Pirshtuk said as he met with Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasyl Bodnar, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian vice speaker noted the positive trends in bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Yet, the inter-parliamentary interaction, in his view, is lacking momentum. In this regard, Boleslav Pirshtuk invited Vasyl Bodnar to outline the growth points as it is important for the MPs to understand the trajectory of movement towards a normal systematic dialogue.

The vice speaker of the House of Representatives co-chairs the commission on inter-parliamentary cooperation between the National Assembly of Belarus and of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. He recalled that the commission held the last session five years ago. The Belarusian MPs are not happy with such situation. Boleslav Pirshtuk believes “that time has come to actively engage in the interparliamentary activities.”

For his part, Vasyl Bodnar stressed that for Ukraine Belarus is a close and friendly country, and the two countries maintain constructive relations. Regular meetings of the heads of the two states contribute to these relations. The deputy minister said that the trade and economic relations have been developing at a good pace. Yet, the cooperation at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs, according to Vasyl Bodnar, “requires a certain restart”. Ukraine would like the parliaments of the two countries to intensify contacts and the ministry intends to contribute to this, the deputy minister said.