Eastern Partnership needs reformatting - Lukashenko
MINSK. April 17 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has spoken in favor of changing the format of the EU initiative Eastern Partnership.
"We would like it to be reformatted from regular policy to closer specific cooperation based on the solution of economic problems," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the agency BelTA during a meeting with Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement.
"We need to develop partnership for cooperation, not against anyone," Lukashenko said.
Belarus and the EU are currently having intensive dialogue and have new areas and interests of bilateral interaction, he said. "There are very many areas of cooperation. This issue interests me the most to adjust and possible build out future policies on the EU," Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko also said the EU should determine the areas of its cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union. "I think the EU should know about the main tendencies in the Eurasian Economic Union and probably build relations with this global market today," he said.
Lukashenko called for the implementation of the global cooperation initiative from Lisbon to Vladivostok. "I think there will be a time when our military-political blocs will maintain contacts and maybe work together," he said.