Party Leaders: USA and Russia Negotiating on Changing Situation in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

The USA is negotiating with Russia on settling the Belarusian issue. That was reported by Syargei Kalyakin, first secretary of the Party of Communists Belarusian, at the press-conference in Minsk March 5, 2007.Since 27 February until 4 March representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces were on a visit to the USA. Party leaders Anatol Lyabedzka (the United Civil Party), Syargei Kalyakin (the Party of Communists Belarusian), Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the BNF, Irina Kazulina, spouse of the chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Gramada), former candidate for the presidency of Belarus, Syargei Matskevich, head of the working group of the Assembly of the Belarusian non-governmental organizations were among the members of the delegation.

“The USA viewpoint on these negotiations is unambiguous: no union of Russia and Belarus is to be considered until human rights are violated, no freedom of will manifestation is provided, political prisoners remain in Belarus”, Syargei Kalyakin declared at the press-conference. Meanwhile, according to him, the USA spoke against price raise for power sources for Belarus.

Representatives of American mass media who were met by the Belarusian policymakers “think that Russia has got a strategic plan against Lukashenka but it has been so deeply hidden that they can’t dig it out in Russia”, S. Kalyakin stressed.

“The issues that we dealt with in the USA are actually the prerogative of the government and the ministry for foreign affairs “, Anatol Lyabedzka, chairman of the National Committee of the Democratic Forces said at the press conference.

The fact that the information about the discussion of the Belarusian issue by Russia and the USA was confirmed should be considered as a positive reality, A. Lyabedzka assumes. According to him, if previously Moscow ”totally refused to discuss this issue with Washington because Belarus was considered to be the area of its influence, but now the situation has changed- now this problem has been seriously treated“.

The American policymakers assured the Belarusian delegation that the Washington would not discuss anything behind the curtains. “We were reported that those negotiations would be open and possible only with participation of the democratic forces of Belarus”, Anatol Lyabedzka declared.

Anatol Lyabedzka reported on the aims reached in the course of the visit. ”We were lobbying adoption of a sort of the Marshall’s plan for Belarus. At the present moment the support of the space TV channel for Belarus is required for breaking through the information blockade. The Congress hearings on the two issues: political prisoners and disappeared policymakers in Belarus- were appointed for this year”.

Leader of the Communists Syargei Kalyakin presumes that the US viewpoints” are unlikely to change for the reason that Lukashenka has worded his intensions to start the dialogue with the West. The Americans repeated several times “We are for the dialogue but we are not going to believe the words, we are going to believe actual actions, real changes of the situation in your country”.