Makei: No disagreement between Belarus and Syria

The two countries support each other in the international arena, but the level of economic cooperation lags behind the political dialogue.

Belarusian foreign minister Uladzimir Makei said it at a press conference after his visit to Syria on February 9, tut.by reports.

According to him, Belarus and Syria agreed that the countries would further develop relations despite the difficulties they faced. The minister said:

“Our country have many promising areas of cooperation. Belarus manufactures the products that interest Syria. Syria has a number of products that interest Belarus. We agreed to form a list of priority goals in the near future to develop our cooperation, to make a list of particular issues and discuss the prospects at the nearest meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation that will be held in Minsk. The issues include possible supplies of Belarusian equipment, a possible construction of assembly plants here, cooperation in healthcare, education and a number of other promising areas.”

According to Makei, the trade between Belarus and Syria was $85 million in its best times. “It has been reduced by half. Our task is to return our best trade volumes and even exceed them in many times,” the Belarusian foreign minister said.

He noted that both countries have political will for further cooperation: “We just need to choose and agree on particular projects that will allow us to expand and deepen our ties. We are going to do it in the near future.”

Answering a question about international efforts to counter terrorism, Makei said Belarus's position had always been clear:

“We have always been against foreign interference into internal affairs of a sovereign state, I mean economic interference or sending terrorists to another state. The foreign forces that were interested in replacing the Syrian regime have faced the threat of expanding terrorism not only in the Near East and northern Africa but also in Europe and the entire world.”

The minister thinks terrorists cannot be divided into good and bad. “We are deeply convinced that the Syrian government should become a partner for all states that sincerely want to eliminate terrorism in the world,” Makei added.

According to him, Belarus is a small country and its voice won't probably make Europe and the US change their position immediately. The minister thinks if such countries as Belarus and Syria unite their voices, it will be a good argument to listen to them.

“I came to Syria after the Munich Security Conference. I heard clear calls for struggling against terrorism together, involving Russia and other states rather than excluding them from the process. Europe and other regions understand that further destabilisation of the situation in Syria will lead to no good. The example of Libya and other countries shows it. The problem can be solved not through supporting extremist groups in Syria but through a dialogue and mutual understanding. I am convinced that both European and American partners have begun to support this position and point of view,” the foreign minister added.

Uladzimir Makei met with Bashar al-Assad, PM Wael al-Halki, minister for foreign affairs and expatriates of Syria Walid al Muallem, Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun and Syrian businessmen.

Bashar al-Assad has been in power since 2000. His latest re-election as the country's president was in 2014. The elections were held amid war and were not recognised by international organisations and western countries. He is accused of organising large-scale repression and crackdown on political opponents, harassment of Kurds and using chemical weapons against civilians. Bashar al-Assad is reported by international organisations to finance terrorist groups Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Photo: SANA