Foreign minister: Poland ready to help Belarus develop dialogue with EU
By Tanya Korovenkova, BelaPAN
27 December 2016, 20:41
Poland is ready to help Belarus develop its dialogue with the European Union, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in an interview with Polski Przeglad Dyplomatyczny (The Polish Diplomatic Interview), the quarterly journal published by the Polish Institute for International Affairs.
There are signals that Belarus has the need to "expand the room for political maneuvering, have an opportunity to choose and strengthen sovereignty," said Mr. Waszczykowski.
Warsaw has drawn conclusions from the situation in Ukraine while shaping its policy toward Belarus, according to Mr. Waszczykowski.
27 December 2016, 20:41
There are signals that Belarus has the need to "expand the room for political maneuvering, have an opportunity to choose and strengthen sovereignty," said Mr. Waszczykowski.
"In our talks with Belarus we act on behalf of Europe," he said. "When the Belarusian side is interested to develop such dialogue, we will be deciding together how this European path should be built."
"We don't want to act against someone but want to work for the common good."
Warsaw has drawn conclusions from the situation in Ukraine while shaping its policy toward Belarus, according to Mr. Waszczykowski.
"Ukrainians took to the streets to protest President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to abandon the pro-European policy," he said. "But politics is the art of choosing between different options. The absence of a choice leads to the loss of independence. We support the sovereignty of Belarus, just like the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
