Contents tagged with Belarus

  • Poland seeks to become mediator in pursuing closer relations between the EU and Belarus

    Ryszard Terlecki, the Vice Speaker of the lower house of the Polish Parliament, said that Warsaw, to a certain extent, would like to be a mediator in pursuing closer relations between Belarus and the European Union, Radio Polsha reported.

    Terlecki explained that due to the historical and cultural ties between Poland and Belarus, Warsaw would be able to fit the role of mediator quite naturally.

    According to the Vice Speaker, Belarus is in an important geopolitical position, and the EU is …

  • Belarus does not see the deployment of NATO troops in the Baltic States as a threat

    The deployment of additional NATO troops into neighboring countries is not a direct threat to the security of Belarus, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, after a meeting with the Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, a Belarusian News Agency reports.

    "As for the prospect of deploying new contingents of NATO troops into the Baltic States and Poland; of course, we do not welcome the deployment of additional military contingents within the …

  • KGB investigates 138 Belarusians suspected of fighting in eastern Ukraine

    The Chairman of Belarus' State Security Committee (KGB), Valery Vakulchik, stated that the KGB is investigating the activities of 138 Belarusian citizens who are thought to have been combatants in Ukraine's eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

    He specified that there are people who are believed to be involved in the conflict in the Donbas and are fighting alongside both Ukrainian military forces and separatists of the self-proclaimed Republics.

    According to Vakulchik, they will be charged …

  • Lukashenko: Belarus successfully tested new missile

    The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has called the 16th of June a “happy day in terms of security and defense” due to the successful launch of a Belarusian-developed missile.

    “During the first launch, the rockets just missed the target by one and a half meters. It hit just 10 meters away from the target on the second launch. It’s perfect,” Lukashenko said.

    He added that the missile system was developed in the country over a period of two years. He asked that the Prime Minister of …

  • Minsk upset over extension of sanctions against Belarus

    The sanctions allegedly "do not take into account changes in Belarusian- American relations"

    Belarus does not agree with the extension of U.S. sanctions and promises to establish relations with America in order to have them lifted, according to a statement by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.

    "The decision adopted on the 10th of June duplicates the previous acts and does not take into account the current changes in Belarusian-American relations," the press secretary of the Foreign Ministry …

  • US extends sanctions against Belarus for another year

    Sanctions imposed by the United States against some Belarusian government representatives and other officials have been extended for another year.

    According to a statement published on the website of the White House on Friday, June 10, the sanctions will be extended due to "the actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons to undermine Belarus's democratic processes or institutions, manifested in the fundamentally undemocratic March 2006 elections, to …

  • Belarusian Ambassador in Kiev: There will be no aggression against Ukraine from Belarus

    Valentin Velichko, the Ambassador of Belarus to Ukraine, stated that there will never be aggression against Ukraine from Belarus. According to him, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has repeatedly stated this, Radio Svoboda reports.

    “An unambiguous direction has been given to the heads of our state: there will never be aggression from our country. Moreover, any third party will not be allowed to commit aggression against Ukraine. Belarus has repeatedly shown support for Ukraine’s …

  • Belarus wants to resume importing Ukrainian power

    Ukraine’s Minister of Energy and Coal Industry, Ihor Nasalik, has discussed the possibility of exporting electricity to Belarus once again with the Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus, Leonid Shenets. This was reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.

    The export of electricity from Ukraine to Belarus was halted in November 2014.

    Belarus has proposed the restoration of Ukrainian-Belarusian working group on energy. This would be within the framework of …

  • Belarus refuses to sell globes with Russian Crimea

    In the city of Mogilev in Belarus, mapmakers withdrew the sale of globes that indicated that Crimea was a part of the Russian Federation. Local authorities advised against selling maps and globes showing a Crimean territorial status that differs from the one generally accepted by the international community.

    Initially, the appearance in stores of globes showing Crimea as a part of the Russian Federation drew the attention of the representative of the Belarusian opposition, Social-Democratic …

  • Belarus is unlikely to receive gas discount from Russia

    The price of Russian gas supplied to Belarus to likely to remain at the current level of $142 per thousand cubic meters, Radio Svoboda reported.

    This was announced by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

    According to him, the current contract for 2015-2016 “has not been cancelled”. Russia believes that Belarus owes $125 million to Gazprom. Minsk does not recognize the debt, saying that, according to their own calculations based on the fall of the ruble against the dollar, their price …