Contents tagged with Belarus
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Canada to lift sanctions on Belarus
Canada plans to lift sanctions against Belarus which have been in place since 2006, Rosbalt reported. A similar action was taken by the US and the EU in October of 2015.
According the official website of the Canadian Government, Ottawa has recently seen “positive developments” in Belarus.
“This announcement… reflects Canada’s acknowledgment that the Government of Belarus has made progress in key areas in recent months, including the release of political prisoners and conducting a …
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Belarusian National Front submits application to recognize Night Wolves as extremist
The Chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, Alaksiej Janukievich, sent an application to the Prosecutor General of Belarus to label the Russian motorcycle club "Night Wolves" an extremist organization, as stated by the party's press service, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Janukievich submitted the application because the Night Wolves' leader, Alexander Zaldostanov, said "Belarus equals Russia."
According to the opposition leader, Zaldostanov's words were aimed at undermining the country's …
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U.S. and Belarus are ready to discuss the return of ambassadors
The senior American diplomat in Belarus, Scott Roland, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Mackay, declared on April 25th that their countries are ready to discuss the possible return of ambassadors to Minsk and to Washington.
Mackay told journalists in Minsk that "there is a readiness on both sides for complete normalization of our relations.”
The Foreign Minister of Belarus said that the United States and his country "shouldn't look at each other through gun sights, but …
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Lukashenko: Russia should not consider Belarus its 'errand boy'
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on Russia to respect the sovereignty of his country. In his annual address to the Parliament and the people of Belarus, Lukashenko urged Moscow to not consider Belarus its ‘errand boy.’
"I want Russians and especially the leadership of Russia to understand that we will not be their errand boy. We are an independent, sovereign state, which lives in the same house with them but has its own apartment. Maybe a tiny and small apartment, but still its …
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Belarus supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine without Crimea
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, emphasized the need to preserve the territorial integrity of Ukraine, not including the annexed Crimea, as reported by news agency RBC.
Makei noted that Belarus’ support is based on the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, who owns the peninsula. "In politics we must work within realities. As our President has repeatedly said: we must move forward based on who Crimea belongs to. Our economic cooperation in the past has not evolved …
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Foreign Ministry of Belarus: Placing a Russian military base on Belarusian territory is meaningless
Currently Belarus does not feel the need to place a Russian military base on its territory, as stated by the Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Makei, Interfax reported.
"As for the placement of the Russian military base on the territory of Belarus, nowadays it's meaningless to place additional bases on our territory. It won't improve security in the region. We have enough different military and air bases, which could be put to use at any moment, if the situation asks for it," …
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Kobyakov: Belarus is dissatisfied with the quality of Russian oil
The quality of Russian oil supplied to Belarus has recently deteriorated, said Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, in an interview with RIA Novosti. He noted that there is a constant discussion between Moscow and Minsk on issues related to the supply of raw materials. According to Kobyakov, both parties are generally on the same page, but disagreements do arise, Rosbalt reported.
"For example, we would want for the oil that arrives in Belarus through the pipeline to be of higher quality, …
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EU to provide Belarus with €29 million in assistance
The Head of the EU Delegation in Minsk, Andrea Victorin, reported on March 31st that the European Union will provide 29 million euros of financial assistance to Belarus in 2016, twice as much as in 2015, as reported by Radio Polsha. “This money is being used for three main areas: the issue of migration, regional economic development and the issue of technical assistance,” the representative of the European Union said.Andrea Victorin also noted that the deicision signifies cooperation between …
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Belarus hopes Russia will agree to simultaneously raise the retirement age in 2017
As Belarusian Prime Minister Andriy Kobyakov stated in an interview with RIA Novosti, Russia and Belarus discussed the topic of raising the retirement age. “In Minsk, we hope that Moscow will make a decision on the simultaneous increase of the retirement age in Russia and Belarus in 2017,” he said. “However, there are no agreements on this joint action,” he added.
"We expect that our partners will make the appropriate decisions. There was a discussion about this. However, there are no …
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Lukashenko: It is impossible to balance the situation in Ukraine without the US
It's impossible to balance the situation in Ukraine without the US, as expressed the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, at a meeting yesterday with the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Michael Carpenter, BelTA reported.
Alexander Lukashenko noted that the issues that are arising in Eastern Europe, "if not today, then tomorrow, could seriously affect the situation in Europe in general... To balance the situation here, I mean Ukraine and other trends, is impossible without the …