Belarus president says cooperation with West cannot replace its ties with Russia

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday no one can replace his country's traditional friendly relations with Russia.

Lukashenko said that Belarus would continue cooperating with Russia, while seeking to normalize relations with the European Union and the United States.

"We will be building relations with the EU and the U.S. consistently and intentionally, and no one should get nervous about this," he said on Thursday while addressing MPs at the 6th special session of Belarusian parliament.

Belarusian trade turnover with Russia is just as large as that with the U.S. and the EU countries, Lukashenko said. "So why shouldn't we cooperate with them? These relations are somewhat different, but they need to be built," he said.

According to the President, Belarus does not resent the fact that Russia currently is undertaking colossal efforts to normalize its relations with the West. "Well, then you should not resent this either," he added. At the same time, he promised that Western countries will never "replace" Russia for Belarus, saying that " Belarus has never been a traitor."

Earlier Lukashenko said Russia "behaved improperly" by banning certain Belarusian foodstuffs from its market. Russian authorities said this move came in a bid to stop prohibited products from European suppliers being unloaded in Russia and finding their way onto the domestic market. Endite