On September 12, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka received credentials of a number of top diplomats, including Russia’s Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus.
In the course of the ceremony, the head of state called Russia ‘main strategic partner and ally of Belarus.
“The Russian president and I agreed to adopt decisions on the further strategy of our integration in the run-up to the landmark date – the 20th anniversary of the Union State Treaty. And we will do it,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Lukashenka.
According to him, over the recent years Belarus has also made significant progress in the dialogue with the European Union, which he considers one of the most important trade partners.
“We aim at building good-neighbourhood and pragmatic relations with the EU which do not necessitate a choice between East and West,” the Belarusian leader stressed.
On Thursday, the Belarusian leader also accepted letters of credence from ambassadors of Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Guatemala, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Tanzania, Croatia, Switzerland, Ethiopia.
Russian senator Dmitry Mezentsev, Head of the economic committee of the Federation Council was appointed Ambassador to Belarus in late April. He came as a substitute for notorious Mikhail Babich whose activity triggered a number of scandals.
In July, it became known that German diplomat Dirk Steffen Schuebel was nominated as Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus. Previously, he was Head of the EEAS Russia Division and Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova. Andrea Wiktorin, who has been Head of the EU Delegation to Belarus since 2015, was nominated as Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia.
