MINSK. June 22 (Interfax) - It is important for Belarus to develop mutually-beneficial relations with the East and the West, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said, asking nations to refrain from building another 'iron curtain' and build bridges between different integration entities on the continent instead, the Belarusian presidential press service said.
"The foreign policy of our country is based on a multi-vector nature and peaceful disposition. We seek to build on friendly, mutually-beneficial relations with all nations. It is equally important for our country to develop cooperation with the East and with the West, without making any artificial choice between them," Lukashenko said in Minsk during the meeting with foreign ministers and the heads of CEI [Central European Initiative] member states national delegations on Thursday.
However, there are certain forces that keep on trying to revive the bloc policy of the past, Lukashenko went on. "Who else other than us, representatives of Central and Eastern European nations, should understand better to what devastating and disastrous effects it [the bloc policy] may amount?" Lukashenko said.
"The realities of today are such that countries which are geographically between Europe and Asia have to take greater responsibility for maintaining regional security. Especially since in material terms, it sometimes doesn't cost a thing. After all, it largely depends on ourselves, whether our countries will become a separating line between world centers of power or a liaison between them. Now it's time to together build bridges between different integration bodies on the continent, rather than new iron curtains," he said.
It is only through an equal dialogue and full-scale economic cooperation, that a true Big Europe can be created to ensure peace, security and prosperity for the generations to come, he went on. "The Central European Initiative should be particularly aimed at solving this very complex problem that is not easy to fix," Lukashenko said.
The Central European Initiative is a regional association that includes 18 countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.