BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
11/06/2009
Minsk, Moscow must tone down debates - Russian ambassador
MINSK. June 11 (Interfax) - Russia's Ambassador to Belarus Alexander Surikov has urged Moscow and Minsk to tone down the peripheral debate of disputable issues.
"One must be skilled enough to change from sharp throbs to an easier heartbeat, to speak one's mind more quietly and to plan the conduct normally," Surikov said at a news conference in Minsk on Thursday.
The Russian ambassador recalled French President Nicolas Sarkozy's over-the-dinner remarks about individual European Union leaders, which leaked into the media.
"Well? Did the European Union break up because of that? Sarkozy wiggled out of the awkward situation without upsetting good-neighborly bilateral relations. This is the key skill of a politician," he said.
On the ban on Belarusian dairy product imports into Russia, the ambassador said the problem was quite soluble.
"I can't figure out what prompted journalists to see a collision here. Belarusian dairy product imports into Russia increased 37% in the first quarter," Surikov said.
"The question was in fact raised this way: Russia has introduced new standards for dairy products. This mismatch is being tackled by the two countries' oversight agencies and companies," he said.
Surikov described as constructive Belarusian-Russian cooperation in agriculture and related industries. "Relations between the two countries' agriculture ministries cannot be described otherwise but good," he said.
"The so-called 'milk war' was unleashed by the press in the first place," the Russian ambassador said.
"The press takes delight harping on burning issues. I have nearly choked with this milk, to be honest," Surikov said.
Source:
http://www.interfax.com/3/499274/news.aspx
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