BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03/10/2008

Belarus: MFA Press Secretary Andrei Popov responding to questions while briefing the media on 2 October 2008

"Channel 1" (Russia): What are the main issues to be discussed during the oncoming meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Union State?

Answer: The very issues that have received some press until now:

I can confirm that the agenda will focus on those very things. There are quite a number of practical issues including the plans to discuss the balance of sugar supplies for 2009-2010 that I think have previously been missed out. I reckon the press service of the Council of Ministers might perhaps release a more detailed communique just prior to the event since, sure enough, the agenda has been more or less finalized on major conceptual things. They are now working it up, making it more specific which is why please keep track of a more concrete release. Generally, I can reiterate that the meeting will put the immediate issues of the bilateral economic co-operation in the first place.

BelaPAN: In recent days, a State Department spokesperson has voiced the White House's position that Washington intends to co-operate with the Government of Belarus and looks forward to an adequate response. What is your comment on the statement? And if possible, I'll bring up the US Charge's statement that they hope to get the US Ambassador back to Minsk in the promptest manner possible.

Answer: Clearly, we are aware of the statements made by the US Department of State officials. You also know our consistent position regarding the development of Belarus-US relations. It comes down to well-known elements, as a matter of fact. I hope, it's needless to bring them up again. We are evidently for the development of the dialogue with the United State of America. Reasonably, we are ready to do so, based on the equal and mutually respectful footing. As you can see, our approaches have by no means changed. As regards the prospects of resuming the full-fledged diplomatic presence in our countries, this issue is apparently one of the things on the dialogue agenda with the United States, covering the entire range of the Belarus-US relations.

Polskie Radio (Poland): Last week the talks were held by Poland and Belarus on the consular issues. Can you elaborate on this?

Answer: I can say that the parties are moving step by step towards adopting specific documents in those areas that I have mentioned: above all, movement of near-border population, the thing we announced last week. The parties are now going through one article after another to draft the relevant agreements.

Once we are done with the work, the drafts will be subjected to a proper internal procedure here, in Belarus.

As far as I understand, our Polish colleagues will have to do just the same, but they are faced up with one more stage relating to the expert examination of the documents in the European Commission.

Therefore, once we have made our way through the whole thing, I think that will bring us to a concrete result that will facilitate, if I can put it this way, human contacts between our two countries.

Source:

http://www.isria.info/RESTRICTED/D/2008/OCTOBER_3/diplo_03october2008_17.htm

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