MINSK. Sept 24 (Interfax) - The attempts by some Western countries to call into question Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's legitimacy do not reflect the entire international community's opinion, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.
"The attempts by some Western countries to call into question the head of state's legitimacy absolutely do not reflect the opinion of the overwhelming majority of the international community," the Foreign Ministry said.
"Belarus has never interfered and does not intend to interfere in the internal affairs of other states. We expect the same approach from our foreign partners," the ministry said.
Belarus is an internationally recognized independent state and has equal rights with other members of the international community, the statement says. "The ban on interference in internal affairs is among the cornerstone principles of international law enshrined in Article 2 of the UN Charter," it said.
"The Belarusians elect their head of state, parliament, and local councils independently and without interference from the outside. The Belarusian people, who are the only source of power and holder of sovereignty, have made their choice. This is of critical importance. Some procedures of external legitimation invented by certain actors are null and void from any point of view," it said.
The ministry said it was perplexed by the way Ukraine has acted lately in not trying any longer "to camouflage its dependence while making its foreign policy decisions."
"Belarus has never sought and is not seeking confrontation. We favor dialogue. Moreover, we have repeatedly stressed at different levels that we are interested in developing mutually beneficial and constructive cooperation with all of our international partners," it said.