KIEV, August 28. /TASS/: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba stated that Kiev may join EU sanctions against Belarus.
"We haven’t seen the EU sanctions yet but we support their [EU] approaches. We’ll draw our conclusions when we’ll see these sanctions," the top diplomat said at a briefing on Friday.
According to the minister, the Ukrainian position is synchronized with the EU and the US partners. "We will work in a coordinated way to stabilize the situation in Belarus," the top diplomat emphasized. "Ukraine synchronizes its position regarding the situation in Belarus with the EU and the US. We do not interfere with the internal affairs of Belarus so that its people choose the path of development on their own," he said. Yet the diplomat didn’t answer the question whether Kiev officially recognizes the presidential election in Belarus.
"This has become some sort of a fetish. The election results were announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus. But comprehensively the election results had significant flaws and do not correspond to the standards in this [electoral] sphere," the top diplomat noted. He reiterated that Ukraine supported the EU position regarding the presidential election in Belarus.
He did reiterate that Ukraine "is not planning to interfere in any way with Belarusian internal affairs." "We have never done so and we are not going to but we are ready to assist in settlement of this situation," the top diplomat said.
On Sunday, August 23, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in an interview with Euronews stated that had he been in Alexander Lukashenko’s place he would have agreed to a repeat election. Belarusian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anatoly Glaz stated in response that Belarus has no need in "trite advice" of the Ukrainian leadership and would like to find support and understanding.
Diplomatic ties with Belarus
Ukraine is not going to cut diplomatic ties with Belarus but will rather "take a pause" in their development until the internal situation in Belarus stabilizes, Dmitry Kuleba stated.
Touching on the situation in Belarus, the top diplomat emphasized that the relations of the two countries are "very profound and extensive," noting a large number of official contacts at all levels. However, he expressed a neutral position regarding the political events after the presidential election. "We are taking a pause in all contacts [with Belarus] until the situation in Belarus stabilizes. We are not severing ties with Belarus, we are taking a pause in preparation and realization of official meetings between our countries. But there are no grounds for cutting the diplomatic ties, we are not planning to take this step," he stated.
Additionally, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Belarus should conduct new and "honest" presidential election. "We support the idea that a new election, honestly and justly organized, would answer many key questions in Belarus," the top diplomat stressed.
The presidential election in Belarus was held on August 9. According to the final results of the Central Election Commission, incumbent president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko got 80.1% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, came second with 10.12%. Tikhanovskaya refused to recognize the election results. Immediately after exit poll results were announced, mass protest rallies of those disagreeing with the election results erupted in the country. In the early days these rallies were accompanied by clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces.
