Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 29 October (BelTA) – Expanding relations with the European Parliament and the European Union is a priority task for Belarus, Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives Boleslav Pirshtuk said during a meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament led by the head of the EP’s Delegation for Relations with Belarus Bogdan Zdrojewski, BelTA has learned.

“Expanding and deepening relations with the European Parliament and the European Union is our priority. We have many common goals and interests, particularly in strengthening security, promoting economic growth, protection of the rights and interests of our citizens,” Boleslav Pirshtuk noted.

According to him, this is especially true in the light of the current geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe. “Our big parliamentary delegation participated in the Forum of Regions of Belarus and Ukraine, which was attended by the presidents of the two countries. We discussed our common security, trust and understanding in the eastern direction. I would like to recall the initiative of the Belarusian president to reboot the Helsinki process. We think that the prerequisites are in place for us to review the situation developing around us in a careful and professional manner,” the vice speaker noted.

He stressed that over the past few years Belarus has maintained a calm, trust-based, non-politicized dialogue with representatives of the European community. “Minsk hosted the conference “Eastern Europe: in search of security for all” in May this year, a high-level international conference “Preventing and combating terrorism in the digital age” in early October. Tomorrow the Belarusian capital will host a meeting of the Munich Security Conference Core Group. We think that this is a good sign for us to assess our positions and approaches in a more meaningful and systemic way to find common points of growth,” Boleslav Pirshtuk noted.

“We intend to pursue the policy towards strengthening international cooperation in the areas of unifying nature. In this regard, an important aspect is the economic situation in the country, and in recent years we have attached it our priority attention. Because this means stability, security and well-being of our people,” the vice speaker noted.