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Minsk may refuse to take part in Eastern Partnership summit

Savinykh pointed out that the Belarusian side duly appointed Viktor Gaisenk, the Ambassador of Belarus to Poland

MINSK, September 29 (Itar-Tass) — Minsk says the Belarussian side reserves a right to refuse to take part in an Eastern Partnership (EP) summit if the status and format of the participation of Viktor Gaisenk as the chief delegate is limited in some way.

"We paid attention to a report circulated by the Polish press agency with reference to the Polish Foreign Ministry's press secretary about an intention to determine the form of the Belarusian delegation's participation in the EP summit," Andrei Savinykh, press secretary of the Belarus' Foreign Ministry said in comment on the Polish press agency's report.

In this connection, Savinykh emphasized, the Belarusian side considers it necessary to state that "any state participating in the Eastern Partnership possesses a sovereign right independently to determine the level and a list of persons for participation in EP activities".

Savinykh pointed out that the Belarusian side duly appointed Viktor Gaisenk, the Ambassador of Belarus to Poland, as its representative at the EP summit in Warsaw.

"If the status and format of the participation of Viktor Gaisenk as the leader of the Belarusian delegation is limited in some way, the Belarusian side reserves a right to refuse to take part in the summit. From the legal point of view, any summit documents, adopted without the consent of the chief delegate of Belarus, will not be legitimate," the spokesman of the Belarus' Foreign Ministry pointed out.