Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) – Belarus has become more attractive as a transit route against the background of Ukraine crisis, director of the center for European integration Yury Shevtsov said at the conference "Minsk after Riga: a Forum on Reforms, or How Can Belarus Adapt and Develop in the New Regional Contexts,” BelTA has learned.

"Belarus’ goals with respect to the Eurasian integration are somewhat different today. It is much more important for us today than it was before the start of the Ukrainian events,” the expert believes.

In his view, the Ukrainian crisis is going to be long, unfortunately. It has upgraded the objectives of Belarus in the Eurasian context. "Certainly the civilizational geopolitical choice which our people made in the mid 1990s in favor of the union with Russia remains unchanged. But the modern-day tasks get updated," said Yury Shevtsov. He believes that today has brought to the forefront the tasks related to the containment of the Ukrainian crisis, assisting the stabilization in Russia and increasing the transit potential of Belarus.

Yury Shevtsov believes that given the current developments Belarus may become the only bridge between the East and the West. In this regard, the relevance of the Silk Road project promoted by China is increasing.