Foreign Minister Makey says that Lukashenka should be invited to Eastern Partnership summit

Belarus expects the organizers of this year`s Eastern Partnership summit in Riga to invite Alyaksandr Lukashenka to the event, according to Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey.

Speaking in an interview broadcast by the ONT television channel on February 8, Mr. Makey said that Belarus planned to send a delegation to the May 21-22 summit.

"But we tell our European partners in no uncertain terms that we should be invited on an equal footing, we should take part [in the summit] on an equal footing, so that there is no discrimination against Belarus," said Mr. Makey.

It is Mr. Lukashenka who will decide who will represent Belarus at the summit, he noted.

"We have participated in the Eastern Partnership," said the minister. "We will participate as long as we see that it brings [us] benefits. We have carried out a number of joint projects with our European partners."