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Polish foreign minister draws parallels between Belarus, North Korea

The Polish foreign minister drew parallels between Belarus and North Korea while delivering a foreign policy report to the Sejm in Warsaw on March 29.

"In today’s world, unrestrained sovereignty is solely the province of autarchic, self-isolating states - unreliable states," the Polish foreign ministry's press office quoted Radoslaw Sikorski as telling the lower house of the Polish parliament.

According to the Polish minister, Alyaksandr Lukashenka "brags before his people of having absolute sovereignty, for example in the face of 'EU pressure'." "This means that he can indeed throw oppositionists into prison, while at the same time remaining totally dependent on those who supply oil and gas to Belarus, or who give the country credit guarantees - and then threaten to withdraw them. Similarly, the North Korean regime is at the mercy of China, and continues to negotiate new shipments of US food aid," Mr. Sikorski was quoted as saying.

The minister said that in relations with the European Union Belarus insisted on sticking to the principle of "less for less." "In line with the proposal put forward by [Polish Prime Minister] Donald Tusk during the Eastern Partnership Summit, we have prepared a cooperation offer which will await the day when repression ends and the political opposition is allowed to play its due role," he said. //BelaPAN