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Belarus is not ready to abandon strategic partnership with Russia in favor of improving relations with EU, official says

Belarus is not ready to abandon strategic partnership with Russia in favor of improving relations with the European Union, Andrey Yaroshkin, deputy head of the foreign ministry's foreign policy analysis department, said at the 11th Minsk Forum on Thursday.

"Belarus and Russia are bound by an allied relationship that is based on bilateral agreements," Mr. Yaroshkin said. "We are going to abide by them."

At the same time the preservation of sovereignty is "the cornerstone of our integration," he stressed.

The question whether Belarus should choose Russia or the West is far-fetched and opportunistic, Mr. Yaroshkin said. "We need normal relations with Europe, too, but we don't intend to develop one area at the expense of the other," he said.

Belarus is "really ready" to develop its relations with Europe, Mr. Yaroshkin stressed. "Belarus strongly supports greater cooperation, while simultaneously advocating respect for each others rights and interests and opposing the use of tools of political, military, or economic pressure in international relations."

"We have noticed, of course, that changes in the efficiency of the development of our relations with Europe occurred amid a certain cooling in relations between Moscow and Brussels," Mr. Yaroshkin said. "But I don't want to believe that it was increased tension in relations with Moscow that caused our cooperation with the European Union to increase. I do not rule out that some European Union politicians would point to the need to maintain a balance between the EU and Moscow to save their face, change their position, and move away from the policy of isolating our country."

The EU has submitted five proposals for improving the situation in Belarus to the Belarusian government, said Jean-Eric Holzapfel, charge d’affaires of the European Commission’s delegation to Belarus. Whether or not the Council of the European Union will re-impose the suspended sanctions on Belarusian government officials in April 2009 will depend on the fulfillment of its conditions, Mr. Holzapfel said.

One should not imagine that Belarus has long been knocking on the EU door, Mr. Yaroshkin said. "The interest is mutual and any dialogue leads to progress," he said. "Twelve years haven't been wasted. We don't want to waste time. One shouldn't expect that all issues will be done away with tomorrow or within five months. But let's expect something positive."