Makey: Belarus, Russia share opinions on virtually all foreign-policy issues
Naviny.by
22 November 2016, 23:35
Belarus and Russia share opinions on virtually all foreign-policy issues, Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey said in Minsk on Tuesday, speaking at a joint board meeting of the two countries' foreign ministries.
Mr. Makey expressed concern about recent developments in the world. "We live in an extremely interconnected world," he said. "New challenges and threats affect all countries. No one can feel safe."
Mr. Makey said that the efficiency of using UN organizations, including for the sake of achieving the two countries' development goals, was to be discussed at the meeting.
Cooperation between Belarus and Russia within the International Atomic Energy Agency will be discussed as well, he said.
Touching on the subject of human rights, the minister said that Minsk and Moscow "consistently speak against and oppose in every way the politicization of this matter."
The meeting was also expected to focus on the two countries' cooperation with the European Union. While Belarus and the 28-nation bloc have recently managed to improve their relations, they are still far from being fully normal, said Mr. Makey. "The current level of Minsk's cooperation with Brussels is far less advanced than that of other EU partners among ex-Soviet countries," he said.
Belarus is interested to expand cooperation with the Council of Europe but is unable to advance its initiatives within the organization because it is not a member, according to the minister. He expressed gratitude to Russia for providing support to the country within the organization.
Regular attempts to "falsify and revise" the results of World War II will also be discussed at the meeting, said Mr. Makey. "We have to consider the situation increasingly often from the point of view of information warfare," he said, adding that Belarus and Russia planned to oppose such attempts in every way.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, noted that Belarus and Russia had managed to secure full-scale bilateral cooperation since the establishment of the Union State 20 years ago. The two countries have identical views on "all present-day issues," he said.
"We appreciate that our Belarusian friends have built their dialogue with the EU and the North-Atlantic Alliance with consideration for their commitments within the EAEU [Eurasian Economic Union] and the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]," said Mr. Lavrov.
22 November 2016, 23:35
Photo: mfa.gov.by
Mr. Makey expressed concern about recent developments in the world. "We live in an extremely interconnected world," he said. "New challenges and threats affect all countries. No one can feel safe."
Mr. Makey said that the efficiency of using UN organizations, including for the sake of achieving the two countries' development goals, was to be discussed at the meeting.
Cooperation between Belarus and Russia within the International Atomic Energy Agency will be discussed as well, he said.
Touching on the subject of human rights, the minister said that Minsk and Moscow "consistently speak against and oppose in every way the politicization of this matter."
The meeting was also expected to focus on the two countries' cooperation with the European Union. While Belarus and the 28-nation bloc have recently managed to improve their relations, they are still far from being fully normal, said Mr. Makey. "The current level of Minsk's cooperation with Brussels is far less advanced than that of other EU partners among ex-Soviet countries," he said.
Belarus is interested to expand cooperation with the Council of Europe but is unable to advance its initiatives within the organization because it is not a member, according to the minister. He expressed gratitude to Russia for providing support to the country within the organization.
Regular attempts to "falsify and revise" the results of World War II will also be discussed at the meeting, said Mr. Makey. "We have to consider the situation increasingly often from the point of view of information warfare," he said, adding that Belarus and Russia planned to oppose such attempts in every way.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, for his part, noted that Belarus and Russia had managed to secure full-scale bilateral cooperation since the establishment of the Union State 20 years ago. The two countries have identical views on "all present-day issues," he said.
"We appreciate that our Belarusian friends have built their dialogue with the EU and the North-Atlantic Alliance with consideration for their commitments within the EAEU [Eurasian Economic Union] and the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]," said Mr. Lavrov.
