Brussels, 12/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 July, Alena Kupchyna, the deputy minister for foreign affairs in Belarus, said she would like the normalisation of her country's relations with the EU.
“Belarus and the EU are natural partners. We would therefore like to achieve normalisation in our relations. We have not yet achieved this, but we are making progress in the right direction”, she said at a press conference after the 7th informal dialogue of the Eastern Partnership at ministerial level in Kiev, Ukraine.
“We are trying to improve our relations based on mutual commitment. Without having offers from the two sides, we cannot advance”, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn stated. “We are motivated to continue a sort of careful advance together, as we began this a year ago”, he said. While Belarus has had some positive developments, Hahn reiterated that economic development went hand in hand with the development of the basics, including a judicial system which is dependable. He also highlighted the organisation and holding of the upcoming elections in the country, as the previous elections were not deemed democratic (EUROPE 11409).
In March 2015, the foreign ministers said they were ready to strengthen the EU's relations with Minsk (EUROPE 11270). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)