Lukashenko promised to become the most reliable partner of the United States “even to his own detriment”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko hopes for a serious improvement in relations with the United States, considering them the leading country in the world, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He stated this on Wednesday at a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, BelTA reports.
Mitchell arrived to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) core group meeting in Minsk (October 30 - November 1).
“Even in the most difficult times of our relations, I never stopped saying that we are extremely interested in good relations with your country,” Lukashenko said. According to him, this is a historic visit by a high-ranking US official, “which will begin a gradual recovery from the current state of Belarusian-American relations.” “If we say that there have been no changes in Belarusian-American relations recently, this would not be true; the visit of a high-ranking official of the administration of US President Donald Trump would be impossible,” Lukashenko said. “Yes, there have been serious advances in our relations, but I would not call them the fundamental changes that time requires in this region.”
The President of Belarus emphasized that the authorities are committed to ensuring that it “be sovereign and independent.” “We want to be predictable and have never betrayed these principles, which is why many countries around the world treat us normally,” Lukashenko noted. — If you and I move forward in our relations, I promise that Belarus will be the most reliable and sincere partner. If Belarus promises you something, we will do it even to our own detriment.”
According to Lukashenko, his American guest knows the problems of the region very well. “We know your country’s attitude towards these problems. I think that you will pay more attention to solving these problems as a leading country in the world, if we are in demand in solving the most difficult problems in Europe, especially in the east of Europe, here, on the geopolitical fault, we are ready for this,” said the President of Belarus.
In recent years, Belarus' relations with the West have improved amid Minsk's role in resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine. This led to the expansion of the staff of the US Embassy in Minsk. The United States has suspended sanctions against a number of Belarusian enterprises, but restrictions still apply to some representatives of the republic’s authorities and the Belvneshpromservice enterprise.
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