Opinions & Interviews

Belarus’ cooperation with Hunan Province hailed as example to follow
Du Jiahao thanked the Belarusian head of state for the opportunity to meet with him and to discuss matters concerning the development of mutually beneficial cooperation...

Belarus interested in good neighborly relations with EU
"We are grateful to Finland for its consistent stance in the European Union in what concerns the efforts to normalize the relations between the EU and Belarus. We would like to reaffirm our interest in building up stable good neighborly relations with the European Union,” noted Vasily Matyushevsky...

Ahmet Yildiz: Belarus-Turkey relations are becoming stronger
“Over the 25 years the Belarusian-Turkish relations have gained great momentum and become stronger on the basis of mutual respect. Our bilateral relations are free from any problems,” Ahmet Yildiz said...

Belarus, Turkey enjoy deep mutually beneficial cooperation
“Our countries enjoy truly friendly relations based on common interests, mutual respect and trust. It is no exaggeration to say that there are no unsettled issues in the bilateral agenda, which is quite unusual today amid constantly emerging conflicts and the building-up of geopolitical confrontation,” the deputy minister of foreign affairs said...

Pakistani PM notes unprecedented development pace of Belarus-Pakistan relations
Nawaz Sharif noted that to intensify cooperation, it is necessary to establish regular interaction between the MPs, since the parliaments serve as important links in the development of ties among people, promotion of mutual understanding, and intensification of mutually beneficial cooperation. Nawaz Sharif suggested exchanging visits of members of the Pakistan-Belarus friendship groups...

Lukashenko against solving domestic issues through aggressive foreign policy
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said during his meeting with the personnel of OAO Rechitsadrev...

Belarus president urges to clean up all district capitals
Speaking about the beautification of towns and the personal responsibility of all people for what is going on in their native place, Alexander Lukashenko said that every person can make a contribution to turning their town into a beautiful and well-kept place...

Kondrusiewicz: Council of European Bishops’ Conferences session in Minsk is a big honor for Belarus
“It is a big honor for the Catholic church and the country which is to host such a large-scale forum,” said the Metropolitan of Minsk and Mogilev. In his words, Belarus will welcome about 50 bishops from European countries. Guests from other continents are invited as well. The main theme of the forthcoming meeting will be youth affairs...

Guo Shengkun: Chinese partners value order and stability in Belarus
In his words, the foundation for good contacts between Belarus and China has been laid down by regular meetings at the supreme level and “a strong friendship between Alexander Lukashenko and Xi Jinping who outlined the vectors of bilateral cooperation”...

Belarus interested in China’s experience in organizing large-scale sports events
The President drew attention to the forthcoming large-scale competition in Belarus. “In the run-up to the biggest mass sports event, the 2nd European Games, we are very much interested in the experience accumulated by China before and during the 2008 Olympic Games,” the head of state said...

Belarus open to dialogue on education with European Union
“We are open to the dialogue and are ready to discuss any matters that may be interesting for us and beneficial for both sides.” He noted that Belarus is interested in the experience of the European Union, of the European educational system and leading universities. “Productive interaction with European countries in education affairs will continue,” stated Igor Karpenko...

Lukashenko in favor of perfecting instead of reforming Belarusian science
“If we see that the way Belarusian science is run is subpar, let us — the older generation, who have created this science, and the younger generation, to whom the future of science belongs — make decisions,” stressed the head of state. “If it is an anachronism, if the country doesn’t need this system now, if it is unacceptable, we should make the relevant decisions. We cannot pretend nothing is going on”...

Lukashenko: The countries' problems should push Belarus and Russia to unity within Union State
“Let us not be isolated within the national framework. Yes, the situation got worse. Sanctions have been imposed on Russia. In some areas Belarus still suffers from sanctions as well. It is clear that we have problems. This means we need to act together. This is the moment which should push us to unity. We, on the contrary, create additional problems that separate us,” said Alexander Lukashenko...

Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan urged to address crisis situations together
“By doing so we are trying to distance ourselves from one another and to protect ourselves separately. This is not the right thing to do in this situation. We should join our efforts, this will make things easier. I do not think it is normal that last year our trade fell, if I am not mistaken, by almost 40% and this year the decline continues. This is not normal,” Alexander Lukashenko stressed...

Lukashenko talks about Belarus’ benefits in CSTO
“The primary benefit is that we get the latest profound knowledge, first of all about the current wars. We ourselves do not lag behind either. We have been developing our military science. We get this knowledge, however, from the Russian Federation in the first place. Our military, ministers and generals, act together, and we, together with President Putin, are also in the know,” Alexander Lukashenko said...

European Parliament’s resolution on Belarus described as unconstructive
“The method of barks and admonitions that the European Parliament uses more often than not does not work with Belarus. Even justified criticism needs to be constructive and unprejudiced. It needs to take into account the objective reality and processes going on in our country and the region as a whole. The resolution demonstrates that the European Parliament did not try to achieve that. We understand that getting rid of anti-Belarus cliches takes time and political wisdom. We will wait”...

Lukashenko: Western politicians should look at their own ‘democracy’ before criticizing Belarus
“Today I received a letter from a group of U.S. congressmen, including the famous [John] McCain, who searches for democracy in Belarus. The letter complains that we’ve apprehended someone here and so on and so forth. In my reply I suggested they should take a look at what kind of democracy is practiced in Western countries. Brussels, London, Paris, and Germany saw bombs, poison, tear gas, water cannons, and police batons only recently”...

Lukashenko: CIS participation should be interesting for all member states
“To spark interest and enhance the CIS, we have decided to encourage member states to step up their efforts in the organization. We have signed a free trade zone agreement, enhanced our cooperation. Now we should, let us say, sign an agreement on the free movement of services. To a certain extend we have already done it in the EurAsEC and the Union State"...

Opinion: Increasing allowed visa-free stay will boost popularity of Belarusian health resorts
Gennady Bolbatovsky noted that the number of foreign nationals who take advantage of the opportunity to visit Belarus visa-free and spend a weekend at a local health resort is on the rise. The tourists give preference to the centers located in the vicinity of the capital city, in Grodno Oblast or Brest Oblast. If a decision is made to increase the allowed period of visa-free stay in Belarus, this will boost the popularity of the Belarusian health resorts...

Belarus’ adherence to EAEU commitments emphasized
Dmitry Mironchik noted: “Belarus has been persistent in promoting tight interaction within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and remains solidly committed to the fulfillment of all the agreements including bilateral and multilateral ones. Work on analyzing all the documents we were suggested to sign in December 2016 has been finished. We expect that no pending questions we have to answer will be left soon”...