Opinions & Interviews

FM: Multi-pronged policy is still relevant for Belarus

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MINSK, 12 July (BelTA) – The multi-pronged policy principle is still relevant in Belarus even in the difficult time of today, Belarus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei told the RT TV channel, BelTA has learned.

“It seems to me that some politicians, journalists, political scientists pay too much attention to the term of ‘multi-pronged policy’. In fact, this concept can be found in foreign policy laws of various countries, including Russia. Russia is also speaking about a multi-pronged policy. The most important thing for us is economy. And we believe that the multi-pronged policy principle remains relevant even in today’s difficult conditions when it is pretty hard to maintain contacts with the countries of the so-called collective West,” Vladimir Makei said.

At present Belarus trades with more than 170 countries, and the concept of multi-pronged policy does not imply that the country is going to “leave someone for someone else, to abandon someone and start leaning on someone else,” the minister said. “We want to have balanced relations with everyone. But at the same time we understand very well that there are states, partners with whom we are simply obliged to have closer ties. For example, Russia. This is our neighbor, 1,300 km of shared border. We are bonded by common history, human contacts and long-standing ties in all areas. Therefore, this destination was, is and will remain the biggest for us. And we are fully aware that we simply must develop all-round cooperation with Russia,” the diplomat emphasized.

At the same time, Belarus cannot drop cooperation with such countries as China and India. There are good cooperation prospects on the African continent, Vladimir Makei added.

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