Events

MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) - Belarus supports Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said after a meeting with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics in Riga on 27 February, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.

Vladimir Makei stressed: "We are concerned over the developments in Ukraine. Ukraine is our southern neighbor. Our trade was $7 billion last year and $8 billion a year before that. We have close trade and economic ties and speak virtually the same language and understand each other when we communicate in Ukrainian or Belarusian. Our people are absolutely close nations. Therefore we view what is happening in Ukraine as, I would say, a tragedy and, of course, we regret the victims in Ukraine. We discussed this issue. We support Ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.”

“Probably we should not go back to the past and talk about who was right and who was wrong. I think that at some point – before the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius or immediately after it - the appropriate steps could have been taken to prevent this tragedy. This applies to all parties involved in this process. But what happened happened. We think that the most important thing now is to restore stability, prevent further bloodshed and ensure the functioning of the authorities which should be legitimate. The most important thing is to preserve the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine ". Vladimir Makei said that Belarus proceeds from the fact that Ukraine is its very important partner.

When asked to comment on the rumors that some Yanukovych supporters might be staying in Belarus, the Foreign Minister noted: “With regard to the Yanukovych supporters staying in Belarus I would like to say that if we were sure that the people were being persecuted unlawfully or only for their political beliefs, as is happening in respect, for example, the Communist Party of Ukraine which headquarters or house of the party leader was attacked, in respect of other political forces - if we were sure that such prosecutions were happening only on formal grounds because the people hold different political views, we may and would grant political asylum to such persons. But none has applied to us for political asylum. As far as I know, there are no supporters of Yanukovych in Belarus.”

Asked whether the Belarusian army is involved or will participate in the exercise of the Russian troops in the south-western part of Russia, Vladimir Makei said: "Please address the questions regarding the exercise of the Russian Armed Forces to the Russian general staff. We have nothing to do with it." He noted that within the framework of the Union State the Belarusian Armed Forces have appropriate agreements with the Armed Forces of Russia and conduct joint exercises from time to time, with international observers being invited, as was last year.

The minister also said: "We are concerned over the situation on the southern border because a large amount of weapons, including from the Interior Ministry and the Armed Forces of Ukraine fell into the hands of a number of people, and it is not known where the weapons might surface in the future. Ukraine is not Syria or Libya which are far from Europe. Ukraine is on the border with the European Union. Our common task, I think, is to make sure that this internal Ukrainian conflict is resolved as quickly as possible and that people go back to calm, normal, peaceful life there”.