MINSK. Feb 22 (Interfax) - The Belarusian authorities maintain dialogue with the West in areas where it meets Belarus's national interests, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik said.
"Minsk maintains the critical dialogue with the West in fields where it meets the country's interests. It was also confirmed by the recent visit by Hungary's foreign affairs and trade minister, during which the parties supported steps to broaden cooperation in areas that are not affected by sanctions," the Foreign Ministry's press service quoted Aleinik as saying in Minsk on Wednesday at a meeting of the Foreign Ministry board, summing up the results of the ministry's work in 2022.
On the Western track, the Foreign Ministry continued to extend comprehensive support to Belarusian enterprises in terms of preserving and, where it is possible, developing trade and economic cooperation, the minister said.
However, the West has systematically been counteracting Russia and its allies, among them Belarus, Aleinik said.
"The West has consolidated forces against Russia and its allies, including our country, Belarus. It is being done in defiance of international law and is being justified by the 'rules-based order', which they themselves have invented and have been using selectively," he said.
The top priority of Belarus's foreign policy this year is the fulfilment of Minsk's plans to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and to address the possibility for Belarus to participate in the BRICS format, he said.
"The Foreign Ministry's central objective in 2023 is to formalize membership in the SCO. Nor will we forget about other formats that are relatively new to us. I am speaking about active work as part of preparations for the upcoming Russia-Africa forum in July and about addressing the issue of participation in the BRICS format," Aleinik said.