Opinions & Interviews

Belarus, UAE encouraged to boost trade cooperation
"The visit of the UAE delegation to Minsk is very timely, as it will contribute to the implementation of the agreements reached during the recent visit of the Belarusian head of state to the United Arab Emirates. It is with great pleasure that we note that the visit of the Belarusian leader, which we consider as quite fruitful, once again attested to the high level of trust and sincere friendship between our peoples,” Vasily Matyushevsky stated...

Belarus President: Women’s movement is important for promoting family values
“You play a crucial role in such significant areas as the economy, education, healthcare, science, culture. You make a big contribution to bringing up children, supporting elderly people and families with many children, ensuring political stability,” the President believes...

Lukashenko: Belarus wants good relations with U.S., but will not get ahead of itself
“We have stated our position – this is an empire, the world’s leading power, and we need to have good relations with them. But we should by no means get ahead of ourselves and make false promises. We have chosen a direction for the development of our relations, and we should follow this path,” Alexander Lukashenko noted...

Belarus’ tangible contribution to international security noted
"Major players, large powers deal with many matters but a lot also depends on small countries like Belarus and Latvia. He said he believes that Belarus’ role in international security matters and the resolution of regional conflicts is very large. Without Belarus the world as we know would have been different,” said the NATO Permanent Representative Indulis Berzins...

Inclusion into UNESCO’s World Heritage List boosts development of local communities
"Since the inclusion of Mir Castle into the UNESCO World Heritage List, the town of Mir has flourished, new jobs have been created. A new kindergarten was built, as the old one was too small for the current number of toddlers in the town. Now, Mir is a place where it is nice and prestigious to live”...

PM: Belarus will make every effort to strengthen CEI’s role in integration processes in Europe
“Belarus will make every possible effort to strengthen the role of the CEI as a ‘converging point’ of different integration platforms and processes in Europe. Belarus is convinced that the Central European Initiative is important and relevant for our countries and our citizens,” Andrei Kobyakov sad...

Apostolic Nuncio: Organizing Pope's visit to Belarus is my top priority
“It is the number one priority for me. We will work on the organization of the Pope’s visit to Belarus. For now I can say nothing regarding the date or the program of the visit,” noted Gabor Pinter. He stressed that he is highly optimistic about the prospects of developing relations between the Vatican and Belarus...

PACE welcomes progress in Belarus-Council of Europe relations
“The relations between Belarus and the Council of Europe are very positive. We hold joint activities: Belarus' representatives come to the Council of Europe, and PACE officials visit Belarus,” Andrea Rigoni noted...

Minsk named as important platform for regulation of regional crises
“We advocate for the resolution of conflict situations using civilized methods, at the negotiations table. They must be solved without the use of military force, without any political and economic pressure. Modern Belarus is viewed as a reliable and predictable partner"...

Interview with Dolph Lundgren: tanks, politics and girls
The snowstorm that hit the Belarusian capital on that day was no bid deal for the movie star who visited the office of the Belarusian IT company Game Stream, drove real-life combat vehicles at the Stalin Line museum, and paid a visit to the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk. “The city looks really nice, it is very clean,” Dolph Lundgren said...

Konrad Pawlik: Forum of Regions will become a new platform of Belarus-Poland cooperation
“This is a new cooperation platform for us. It will be used to organize meetings for representatives of regional and oblast centers, local and self-government”...

Didier Canesse: France-Belarus relations have entered a new level
"The EU has lifted almost all its sanctions. These were very important decisions which were promoted by France as well. It is important to strengthen both the political dialogue and bilateral trade and economic relations, as well as cultural ties, since these are closely interlinked"...

Belarus’ drive towards observing human rights noted
“Since I had the honor of tracking the creation of the national plan on human rights in Belarus, I should say that a lot of effort went into it. It indicates that Belarus is stepping up its orientation towards cooperation as part of the mechanisms meant to ensure the observance of human rights"...

Kupchyna: National Human Rights Action Plan is about great ideas, practical steps
Belarus’ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alena Kupchyna stressed that national human rights action plans help bring the norms of international law closer to the real situation in the countries...

MFA: ODIHR report on Belarus parliamentary elections can provide basis for further dialogue
“The final report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission to the parliamentary elections in Belarus, which was published yesterday, is quite a substantive document both in terms of volume and content. Its thorough analysis will take time and will require the participation of specialists. Such an analysis will be undertaken shortly by the Central Election Commission and members of the interagency group of experts,” Dmitry Mironchik said...

Belarus’ commitment to protecting children’s rights reaffirmed
“Belarus and UNICEF have been together for 70 years already. We take immense pride in the fact. Certainly, this cooperation acquired a special impulse and special content after Belarus gained independence. Belarus was one of the first countries in the world to pass a law on children’s rights"...

Minsk advocates meeting of leaders of Russia, USA, EU and China
“The time is ripe for a meeting of the leaders of Russia, the United States, EU and China to have honest exchange of opinions on the root causes of the crisis in international relations. It is essential to start thinking over the new rules of the emerging multipolarity and demonstrate unconditional respect for each other’s interests,” Vladimir Makei noted...

Belarus-EU cooperation in nature protection, energy saving commended
"The EU has been actively and fruitfully cooperating with Belarus in nature protection, energy efficiency and energy saving. In her words, Belarus is a good partner, and thanks to this a lot of different projects can be implemented,” stressed Andrea Wiktorin...

Integration development platform to push Belarusian-Russian products to third countries
"Our job is to create a platform that will help joint products reach third countries apart from allowing us to increase export between Belarus and Russia. Thus, the platform will allow increasing the export volume but best of all it will create a synergy. It will unite all the participants of the process," - Sergei Gorkov said...

Shestakov: No chaos in Belarus during 25 years of independence
"Belarus is the only country in the EU Eastern Partnership who has happily avoided being dragged in wars and conflicts. In the time of tectonic transformations, we have managed to protect the country from chaos, preserve security and stability in the society,” Evgeny Shestakov said...