The anti-Russian rhetoric of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has influenced Russia's attitude towards him, Russian presidential press secretary Natalya Timakova said.
Commenting on the Russian leader’s latest blog entry, Timakova said that it is obvious that relations with the Belarusian authorities have reached a deadlock recently.
"Given the latest comment offered by the president of Belarus, it is obvious that these relations will never be the same," she said.
"The Belarusian president’s attempt to secure himself a new term in office using this anti-Russian rhetoric has certainly changed our attitude towards him personally," Timakova said.
The Russian president’s latest blog entry is intended to clarify the head of state’s vision of the present-day situation in relations between Moscow and Minsk, as well as possible directions of their development in the future, Timakova said.
"Many people have already compared it with the president’s blog entry addressing relations with Ukraine when they were at their lowest, when economic relations were effectively frozen and there were no political contacts. Certainly, relations with Belarus, our closest neighbor, look somewhat different," she said.
Russia and Belarus have good trade and business cooperation, and Moscow has reaffirmed its commitment to further integration both within the Russia-Belarus Union and within other organizations where the two countries participate, Timakova said.
