BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/03/2007

Belarusian President Vows 'Friendship With The Russians' And Readiness To Establish 'Normal' Ties With Washington

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television that maintaining friendly relations with Russia is a sacred matter for Belarus, Belapan reported on March 1. "Irrespective of whether someone likes it or not, they in the West should understand that our friendship with the Russians is above all," Lukashenka said. Lukashenka simultaneously underlined that both countries need "to shift from politics of blackmail to normal dialogue." "We were not the primary reason for what has happened in [our] relations with the Russian Federation," Lukashenka said in an apparent allusion to the recent Belarusian-Russian row over gas- and oil-price hikes. "If they want to build a union with us on an equal, friendly footing, we are ready," he added. Lukashenka is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates in the near future. JM

President Lukashenka also told Al-Jazeera that Belarus is ready for dialogue with the United States, Belapan reported on March 1. "The ball is in the [U.S.] court. If the Americans deem it necessary to establish normal relations with Belarus, we are ready for that," Lukashenka said. He reportedly stressed that the planned deployment of a U.S. missile-defense system near Belarus's borders is only the beginning of a U.S. military buildup in East Europe. "The grouping of U.S. military forces here will be significantly reinforced, therefore the Russian Federation should act actively in the western direction in order to make itself secure," he added. Lukashenka also strongly disapproved of the situation in Iraq. "It is not a civil war any longer, it is a slaughter. These events in Iraq completely annul the declarations of the mighty of this world that they have come to that country as democrats," he said. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/03/3-CEE/cee-020307.asp