MINSK. May 22 (Interfax) - The Eastern Partnership should not accuse Russia of "annexing Crimea," Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at the 7th Congress of the Belarusian Union Federation in Minsk on Friday.
"We have always been categorically opposed the idea of the Eastern Partnership being against anyone. But Russia is not a participant in the Eastern Partnership. Why should we beat Russia in its absence, including for Crimea, etc.?" Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the Belarusian media.
Lukashenko said he is negative about the attempts made by the West to involve Belarus in the polemic on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
"We should defend our interests. Why should we be against Russia? Moreover, we were a place of peace on the issue of Ukraine. The leaders of the world powers gathered here to stop the war," Lukashenko said.
"They are saying let's act against Russia together. What kind of a neural world power would that be? This contradicts our internal convictions and the current state of affairs. However, don't the leading Western powers, including Germany and France, see that?" the president said.
Lukashenko believes the Ukrainian events should have taught everyone how to keep the current fragile peace. "We need to resolve the problem first before deciding who is right and who is wrong. Now, they are trying to involve Belarus. We can't support this position because the main thing is not to accuse anyone. We have enough accusations, we need to give peace to this country and people," the president said.
"We don't want to get involved in any reckless schemes. We want peace, including for our country. That's the essence of our politics," Lukashenko said.