Europe has realized that Belarus has its own national interests, Makey says

Minsk’s stance on the crisis in Ukraine has made Europe realize that Belarus has its own national interests, Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey told reporters in Minsk on Wednesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a “Normandy Four” summit in Minsk, he insisted that Belarus was not trying to ingratiate itself with the West with its policy regarding Ukraine but was simply pursuing its interest.

Mr. Makey said that Belarus was not expecting a drastic improvement of its relations with the European Union. “However, it’s probably clear that our stance on Ukraine is helping [Europe] understand Belarus better,” he said. “As a result, a more positive atmosphere will be created in our relations.”

Mr. Makey said that Belarus had done its best to organize Wednesday’s summit, given that it had only two days to prepare. He acknowledged that Europeans might have "slightly different expectations" of such events than the participants of post-Soviet blocs` summits in Minsk.