You're reading: Belarusian foreign minister: Ukraine conflict stems from choice between West, East

The ongoing events in Ukraine have shown vividly what debates on a choice between the West and the East in the Eastern Partnership region countries could be fraught with, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said at a plenary session of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on Friday.

“In 2009, when we started this initiative, we agreed together on Eastern Partnership’s main goal as strengthening security, stability, and prosperity in the region. Today, after one and a half years have passed since our last meeting in Vilnius, we all should acknowledge that this goal is even further from achievement than before,” the ministry press service quoted Makei as saying.

“We are facing growing tension, a deepening split, and worsening confrontation in the region and outside it. The events in Ukraine have vividly demonstrated what threats a dispute on the choice is fraught with,” he added.

Belarus remains the only Eastern Partnership country not involved in any conflict these days, he said.

The Eastern Partnership region “has still not become a link connecting the East and the West and an area of cooperation based on common values, mutual interests and common responsibility,” Makei said.

“On the contrary, it has turned into an apple of discord, which is having a negative effect on all partner-countries,” he said.

All Eastern Partnership participants should find ways and means to stop and reverse this dangerous trend, restore peace and stability, and prevent further confrontation, he said.

“What we need is dialogue and cooperation. It is necessary to improve trust and understanding in a broader context, including through strengthening the security community within the OSCE and arranging dialogue between various integration structures, such as the EU and the emerging Eurasian Economic Union,” Makei said.

Otherwise, Eastern Partnership’s future will be jeopardized, he said.

“In this context, Belarus is determined to apply all possible efforts and make its contribution, just as we have demonstrated during the crisis in Ukraine,” Makei said.