Opinions & Interviews

PM: Belarus is ready to develop equal and mutually beneficial relations with all nations

MINSK, 14 December (BelTA) – Belarus stands ready to develop equal and mutually beneficial relations with all nations without exception, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said as he introduced new Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Aleinik to the staff of the ministry, BelTA has learned.

"We use the term 'unfriendly states' as a kind of designation, including for paperwork purposes. But I want to emphasize that no nation is unfriendly, especially neighbors that God has given us. These are the governments of individual states that are currently pursuing a discriminatory, unfriendly or openly hostile policy towards Belarus. Therefore, we are forced to respond to this. Well, a country is its people first of all. As before, we are ready to develop equal and mutually beneficial relations with all nations without exception," Roman Golovchenko said.

"The ink on the appointment decree had hardly dried when they began insinuating that Belarus is looking for ways to the West by appointing Sergei Aleinik new minister. They make these conclusions from the biography of the new minister. Indeed, he worked a lot in Western countries but it was his career path. We are not looking for ways to the West. Let them look for ways to us. It was not us who severed ties, took hostile actions, shut down embassies, and imposed sanctions and bans," the prime minister stressed.

Tectonic changes are happening in geopolitics, the picture of the world is changing dynamically, he noted. "We cannot be just an observer in this process. We need to actively influence what is happening in the interests of our country. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must not be inactive, lacking initiative, contemplating. The pace and methods of work, which could be considered satisfactory until a few years ago, are unacceptable today. This applies not only to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but also to the entire system of public administration. It is important to act proactively, analyze the entire range of external threats, and come up with out-of-the-box solutions to prevent them," the head of government said.

"In principle, the main tasks facing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not changed. We still need to promote foreign relations, political and economic contacts. Sanctions, restrictions are not here forever," Roman Golovchenko summed up.

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