MINSK, 26 July (BelTA) – Belarus will never ruin its relations with brotherly Russia, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics in Minsk on 26 July, BelTA has learned.

“We want good relations with Western Europe, with Europe in general, the European Union, the United States. As a person who has been in politics for many years, I understand it. I know what the EU and America are about, but we will never ruin our relations with brotherly Russia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

The head of state continued: “This is our Russia, our people who respect us. The Belarusian president has an approval rating in the multinational Russia at over 60%. Why should we give a cold shoulder to the country that has lent us a helping hand in difficult times. But this doesn't mean that we are ready to give up on our relations with the West, the East, the People's Republic of China, with which we have good relations and common interests. This will never happen. You understand this. I am telling you this publicly and openly. I want you to understand our policies,” the Belarusian president said.

“I want you to understand and ignore various speculations suggesting that we are back-and-forth, that we depend on someone. The world is interdependent: you depend on someone, we depend, someone depends on us. I can say the same about Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. We are small states, though there are no small states because all nations are equal, small or large. We proceed from this. A state that is huge in terms of area or population, cannot dictate terms to someone, I totally reject it,” the president said. He stressed that this is the essence of independence of Belarus. “This is something that the Baltic states, including Latvia, always advocate for. You can be sure that you deal with a sovereign independent state. This is how it will always be, at least as long as I am president,” the head of state noted.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he is grateful for the invitation to visit Latvia and will surely undertake such a trip. A visit should yield goods results and this requires thorough preparations. He asked to convey his best wishes to the leadership and people of Latvia. The president also said that Belarus is always happy to host representatives of Latvia.