Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus O.Kravchenko visits the United States

11 May 2017

11-05-2017

On May 9-11, 2017 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Oleg Kravchenko, pays a working visit to Washington, USA.

In the course of the visit, O.Kravchenko participated in the seminar “Between East and West: Belarus at a Crossroads”, organized by the Atlantic Council and the Jamestown Foundation.

In his statement, the Deputy Head of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry underlined the counter-productivity of the arguments on the need for Belarus to choose between the West and the East. “We believe that there is no need to choose. Belarus is seeking bigger volumes of trade, investment and cooperation in all spheres with the Western states. I am convinced that the development of relations with the West is possible without any damage to our relations with Russia,” O.Kravchenko stressed.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus also touched upon the issues on the Belarusian-American agenda.

O.Kravchenko noted that sides pay special attention not only to the Human Rights and democracy issues, but also to the interaction in the sphere of security at the regional and global levels.

As an example of the successful cooperation between Belarus and the United States, the diplomat cited our countries’ voluntary nuclear disarmament, the possibility provided by Belarus to transit cargoes for the American troops in Afghanistan. “When America needed help, we provided it. We have never attempted to trade something in return and have never spoken about it in public. This is our stance: when it comes to strategic and security matters, our cooperation should not depend on temporary political disputes,” the Deputy Minister said.

As part of his visit to the U.S., O.Kravchenko met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bridget Brink, and representatives of the executive staff of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

At the meetings, the sides discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation, prospects for the development of collaboration between the countries in areas of mutual interest.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus also held a meeting in the Office of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. Senate.