Lukashenko opposed to Ukraine's involvement in military blocs
MINSK. May 15 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has opposed the involvement of Ukraine in any military blocs.
"There is no need to drag Ukraine into any blocs or deploy any forces there either from one side, or a third or a tenth side. Ukraine must be Ukraine," Lukashenko told Ukrainian Ambassador Mykhailo Yezhel in Minsk on Thursday.
In the words of Lukashenko, Minsk sincerely wishes "the quickest end to the events, which, unfortunately, are still evolving there and have a negative effect on Ukrainian development as a single and integral state, as our Ukraine."
Lukashenko said his meeting with the Ukrainian ambassador was symbolic to a large extent. "This is only natural: I have said a lot about Ukraine, our involvement in the processes underway in Ukraine. And the people of Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities and you have nothing to reproach me about," the Belarusian president said.
He noted that the republic had always aspired to maintain "an accurate and measured position [on Ukrainian issues] while openly declaring that Ukraine is very close to me personally and from the point of view of the state."
"Never could we nor can we even imagine Ukraine taking a position oppose to Belarus. We cannot accept that and I have bared our concerns, including those related to NATO. Being a military man you have to understand me," the president told Yezhel.
Ukraine is "a self-sufficient country," Lukashenko noted.
"This is a 45-million-strong population, a people close to us. This is a self-sufficient country and it will be a very influential country if it is helped instead of being impeded. Some may not want it to be strong and influential, but this is not a position of mine and the people of Belarus," the chief of state underscored.
Belarus wants "a strong Ukraine, with which it will be possible to cooperate and trade, as we have been doing in the recent years and have achieved a certain amount of growth," Lukashenko said.
He added that Belarus hoped to restore bilateral trade turnover with Ukraine and "was prepared to do its utmost in that area."
Lukashenko recalled that he had raised those issues and responded to the concerns at a meeting with Ukrainian interim President Oleksandr Turchynov.
"I honor the agreements we reached with the Ukrainian authorities in Pripyat, so you can count on the exclusively kind attitude of Belarus toward Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people," the Belarusian president stressed.