Lavrov: Russia, Belarus are open to cooperation, not closing doors on anyone
14:04, 26 October
Photo: BelTA
Russia and Belarus are open to cooperation and are not closing their doors on anyone. But we will do it only on an equal footing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 26 October, BelTA has learned.
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Emphasizing the timeliness and relevance of the conference on Eurasian security in Minsk, Sergey Lavrov noted that he concurs with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik, who, speaking at the conference, noted openness to cooperation with everyone, but only on an equal and honest footing. "Hungarian Minister Szijjártó said the same thing. On my part I said that we are not closing doors on anyone," Sergey Lavrov said.
However, some European countries have decided to stop cooperation, under pressure from the United States. In such a situation, Russia and Belarus have come to the conclusion that they will have to provide for their needs on their own, instead of acting, as before, on the principle of division of labor, buying some products abroad. "If Europe prefers to fence itself off, then, as you said, Aleksandr Grigoryevich, we will have to move from the division of labor to the independent sovereign creation of everything that we need for development, for security," Sergey Lavrov said.
"But, again. If and when they [the Europeans] come back to their senses and understand that they are depriving themselves of mutually beneficial economic prospects, and return to cooperation, then we, together with partners in our integration associations, will see what ideas they will bring," the minister added.
