Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 17 July (BelTA) - Belarus has made its contribution to promoting trust on the continent, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said in an interview to the Belarus One TV channel, BelTA has learned.

Talking about the results of the OSCE PA session in Minsk, which major theme was “Enhancing mutual trust and cooperation for peace and prosperity in the OSCE region”, Vladimir Makei stated that the current level of opposition is extremely high and it is impossible to change the situation within one session or month.

“There is not only verbal opposition or some hostile rhetoric. There is also a vivid inflammation of tensions. On the one hand (if we take the NATO bloc), we can see an increase in the military presence, including close to our borders. On the other hand, it cannot be ignored. Certain counter-moves are taken. As a result, we go back to the cold war era,” said the minister.

“Belarus’ policy is based on the belief that no wars, no conflicts can be an efficient way of addressing problematic issues. The same approach was followed during the organization of the 26^th OSCE PA session,” Vladimir Makei stressed.

In his words, Belarus suggested a resolution to prevent the emergence of new drugs and spoke in favor of a number of other initiatives. Other countries also suggested important resolutions, including those to fight terrorism, prevent discrimination on religious grounds.

“These are small steps. But these are progressive steps towards the expansion of trust in the region and on the continent. I believe that proceeding from this fact, Belarus has made its contribution to enhancing trust on the continent,” the minister stressed.

He also commented on the exclusion of the criticism of Belarus from the final declaration. “More recently, Belarus’ image has significantly changed, which we could see during the voting on the resolution,” said the Belarusian minister.

Vladimir Makei noted that some MPs made an attempt to adopt a resolution against the country that hosted the OSCE PA session. “It was a resolution of non-international nature, but focused on bilateral relations. This was their right. They put it to a vote. This resolution, however, was supported in a minimal number of necessary co-authors – 20 people. At the same time the Belarusian resolution on drugs was supported by 44 co-authors from 20 states (including the post-Soviet countries, Germany, the United States, Canada, and other countries). These are not some sport-like results. Common sense prevailed. MPs saw the real situation in Belarus, the region and what steps Belarus takes. I think this influenced the vote,” the minister said.

As for the different opinions demonstrated by the Belarusian MPs during the vote on the final declaration, Vladimir Makei stressed that the parliamentary delegation of Belarus is not some Politburo which always votes unanimously. “MPs expressed their opinions. This is normal and refutes the statement of some western MPs that the parliament in Belarus acts on some orders. There is a variety of opinions and this proves that Belarus has a well-functioning parliament,” the minister added.