Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 6 October (BelTA) – Opinion about Belarus is transforming, including the opinion of critics, the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei as saying during the first conference of Belarus’ honorary consuls, BelTA has learned.

Vladimir Makei said: “We’ve worked very constructively with regard to the Ukrainian crisis. However, Minsk’s role as a negotiation venue is not limited only to Ukrainian problems. In 2017 alone we organized two major international forums. As the president of the Central European Initiative we’ve arranged a number of events and will organize a number of events this year. We’ve hosted a session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly this year. We did it well. Even the participants, who, mildly speaking, are not friends of Belarus, sincerely thanked us for it.”

In particular, Vladimir Makei recalled the meeting of the Belarus president with a delegation of U.S. congressmen. The congressman, who authored the law on Belarus in the U.S. Congress to enforce a number of restrictive measures against the country, was a member of the delegation.

“I’ve read a lot of his interviews after this meeting, after the visit to Belarus. The opinion of this congressman just like the opinion of many colleagues of his has changed seriously for the better. We cannot say it is now ideal, that all the problems are gone. But it is important to objectively look at things and recognize this objectivity. It is important to recognize that a lot has been done and is being done in Belarus for the better,” stressed Vladimir Makei.

“Our job and your job are to try to deliver the word about these positive aspects to the ruling circles of your countries. I would like to once again point out that we don’t ask you to cast Belarus in an ideal light. Absolutely not. We would like other nations to view us objectively, really, pointing out our drawbacks and recognizing our merits, our positive accomplishments,” he added.