Lukashenko Calls on Serbia to Decide What Kind of Relations It Wants with Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko (BETAPHOTO/Milos Miskov)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Nov. 20 called on Serbia to decide what kind of relationship it wanted with his country.

In a meeting with new Belarusian ambassadors to several countries including Serbia, Lukashenko said the policies Serbia has and wants to have toward Belarus should be examined, reported the Russian wire service RIA Novosti.

If Serbia wants cooperation, Lukashenko said, then there has to be something to show for it in trade and the economy, but if Serbia wants to support European and American sanctions against Belarus, it is welcome to, if it has forgotten all the good Belarus has done.

Lukashenko, who on Nov. 20 named new ambassadors to Serbia, China and several other countries -- in Africa and Asia, said Belarus would keep embassies where necessary if the West and the U.S. did not want to cooperate with it, and move its main diplomats to those countries that do want to work together with Minsk.

Lukashenko said his country worked with many nations and should focus on strengthening the relations, including with Serbia, but that Serbia should sort out what it wants. Saying one thing and doing the opposite is a policy nobody needs, Lukashenko said.

Last year, Serbia joined the sanctions the European Union introduced against Belarus, but did not align with the EU's decision this August to expand the sanctions against Minsk.