FM Makei: Belarus suffers from confrontation between EU and Russia
Eastern Partnership member states leaders in Brussels in May 2019 / mfa.gov.by
Talking to reporters on the margins of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on 14-15 May, Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei commented on the place of Belarus in Europe.
"Some countries treat Belarus as a buffer zone. I do not like this description. I would prefer speaking about the zone of prosperity. That's why in the first place we decided to participate in the Eastern Partnership initiative," Mr Makei is quoted by nn.by as saying.
Minister Makei also touched on the unresolved problems, the confrontation between the European Union and Russia among others. He said: “The ongoing confrontation and contradictions between the East and the West, between Russia and the European Union represent a problem for us because we are situated between the two major camps. We suffer due to this confrontation and would like to avoid it.”
In his words, for the sake of overcoming contradictions between major blocs Belarus is committed to the integration of integrations. “In our opinion, it could somehow unite the two integration processes in our region – the Eurasian one and the European one,” Belarus' top diplomat added.
Mr Makei reminded that the share of the EU in Belarusian exports rose from 26% up to over 30% in the past year. The European Union is the second largest trade partner for Belarus.
