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Belarus Can't Be Bought on Abkhazia, S.Ossetia - Lukashenko |
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Friday, 5 June 2009Belarus will decide on its own whether to recognize the former Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, regardless of any foreign loans, the president said on Friday.
Alexander Lukashenko told journalists it had been suggested that if Minsk recognized the independence of both republics, Belarus would receive a tranche of $500 million from Russia.
"We do not want to sell any issues or positions. This has never happened in our history and it never will. We will decide this issue on our own," Lukashenko said.
Belarus earlier refused to accept a $500 million loan in Russian rubles, asking for U.S. dollars instead.
Lukashenko added that he had meetings with Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh and South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity and discussed this issue with them.
"They have no issues with us, they understand our position," he said.
The presidents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have requested that the Belarusian parliament recognize their independence, as only Russia and Nicaragua have done. However, the issue has not been included in the agenda for the parliament's spring session, which began on March 2.
After the dispute over the loan last month, Lukashenko told his Cabinet ministers to stop groveling to Russia and seek partners in other countries.
"If things go wrong with Russia, do not bow down [to it], do not whine and weep, seek fortune in a different part of the globe," Lukashenko said.
Last year, Lukashenko secured a $2 billion loan from Russia to help the economy overcome the global financial crisis and a deal to receive Russian natural gas at a subsidized price. Belarus received the first $1 billion in November 2008.
In March 2009, the country received another $500 million.
However, relations between Moscow and Minsk have repeatedly been strained in recent years, in part due to Russia charging Belarus more for its gas. |
Friday, 5 June 2009
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