President: Belarus sticks to its major foreign policy principle of a multi-vector approach

In today’s difficult political situation on the international arena, Belarus firmly sticks to its major foreign policy principle – a multi-vector policy. This was stated by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said during the meeting with journalists in Minsk:

"We have not moved away an inch from our central foreign policy principle, the multi-vector approach. Such a policy is prompted by our geopolitical location. We have our elder brother, our brethren in the East. Our bonds are so strong that it is impossible to break them. We have common history, we fought shoulder to shoulder in the last war, and we are firmly tied to each other.

As to the Western neighbors, Belarus, Poland and Lithuania were part of the same state in the past. The history remembers it. Today the West boasts advanced technologies. Everyone seeks to collaborate with the European Union and America. The Russian Federation wants this cooperation, too. When the recent dispute arose, Russia made it clear that it wants to bring the relations back to normal.

Can we be blamed for wanting good relations with the West? We do not want to fight with them or look askance at them. They are our neighbors. There should not be any other policy towards them. Why would we bristle up? We have one and the same goal – peace and tranquility on our land. If we start arguing or, God forbid, fighting with our neighbors, we will never have peace. Ukraine is a case in point. This means that we were right in adopting a multi-vector foreign policy. it is based on historical precedent and is mentally close to us."