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Lukashenko says West not ready for mutually beneficial partnership

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Belarus was ready for mutually beneficial "partnership" with the European Union and the United States, but the latter did not seem to be so.

However, he stressed that Belarus did not seek to "inflict itself" on the West or "earn brownie points" with it.

The Belarusian leader was speaking at a meeting with the heads of Belarusian diplomatic missions abroad on Tuesday.

He indicated that Belarus was ready to accept universally recognized values but stressed that it did not need the West's "rights to use military force and economic sanctions against 'unwanted' countries and kill peaceful population, nor freedom from moral obligations."

Among the universally recognized values, he cited respect for other states, their independence and sovereignty, their right to choose their own path and people's right to elect their own leaders.

"The USA and EU do not hold monopoly on them [values]. Our people paid more for them than the USA and the EU," he said.

The Belarusian leader also suggested that outside pressure on Belarus had stepped up because of the country's increasing "geopolitical importance." //BelaPAN