Belarus wants normalization of relations with U.S.

Belarus wants normalization of relations with the United States on mutually beneficial terms, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Wednesday.

Lukashenko said Belarus will not have a full-fledged foreign policy without normalization of its relations with Washington, Lukashenko made the remarks on Wednesday at the meeting with Scott Rauland, temporary charge d'affaires of the U.S. in Belarus.

However, the president noted the improvement of relations between Belarus and the United States, adding that "with the good will of the U.S. government we can do a great deal in the near future".

At the same time, Lukashenko noted that Belarus has certain obligations to the neighboring states, including close cooperation with Russia, as well as China and India. "These countries are our strategic allies, partners. We have made relevant agreements with them," he said.

Lukashenko also said that the independence and sovereignty for him as a president and for the Belarusian people - are sacred. "We will never agree to be a non-sovereign state, to be dependent on someone else", said the president.

Rowland said Washington sees the possibility of full normalization of relations with Belarus. The U.S. is pleased with the progress that Belarus has achieved in the past two years, he added.

The U.S. is ready to cooperate further with Belarus for a positive future, and the main thing is for the territorial sovereignty and independence of Belarus to be at the highest and strongest level, the diplomat said.

Belarus has no U.S. ambassador since 2008. The two countries mutually reduced staff of their embassies to five people in 2008 after the United States had imposed economic sanctions on Belarus.

In recent years, Belarus has improved relations with the West against the background of the role of Minsk in the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Earlier, the U.S. suspended sanctions on a number of Belarusian enterprises. Endit