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Belarus, Russia agree only Minsk Accords can ensure peace in Ukraine — FM

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei says the Minsk Agreements are the only effective mechanism to achieve peace in Ukraine

Local residents in the city of Donetsk Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

Local residents in the city of Donetsk

© Mikhail Pochuyev/TASS

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Russia, Belarus call against division lines in Europe — Lavrov

MINSK, May 16. /TASS/. Russia and Belarus agree that the Minsk Agreements are the only effective mechanism to achieve peace in Ukraine, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Monday at the meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"We agree that the accords reached in Minsk are the only effective mechanism to achieve peace and stability in our neighboring country (Ukraine)," Makei said.

He also noted that Minsk highly assesses Moscow’s actions "on containing the expansion of terrorism in the Middle East." "The sides agreed once again that there is no alternative to inter-Syrian political dialogue ," he added. The Belarusian side also assured Russian colleagues that Minsk "will firmly support initiatives in the sphere of disarmament that Russia puts forward at different international platforms," Makei noted.

The Belarusian foreign minister said today’s talks focused on issues of cooperation in different integrational structures and on the international arena. In particular, the foreign ministers agreed that the sides should strictly adhere to their commitments in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It was noted that Moscow and Minsk support developing contacts with third parties but taking into account economic interests of all EAEU member states. Talking about the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Makei and Lavrov noted that it remains a functioning organization but needs modernization.

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