MINSK, May 13. /TASS/. Despite its challenging relations with the West, Minsk will pursue constructive cooperation on the international arena and an equal dialogue, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, accepting credentials from foreign ambassadors at a ceremony on Thursday.
The Belarusian citizens supported the declared process to launch a constitutional reform, which is underway in the republic "openly and with broad discussion," Lukashenko emphasized.
"To tell you the truth, not everyone overseas likes this," Lukashenko said, according to his press service. "But even in such uneasy conditions Belarus will remain committed to constructive cooperation on the international arena." According to Lukashenko, Minsk "is always ready to hold dialogue, but it should be respectful, fair and equal." The president expressed hope that diplomats would suggest "interesting ideas for fostering cooperation and sharing positive experience of their countries [with Belarus]."
Lukashenko recalled that in February Minsk hosted the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, which was attended by more than 2,500 delegates. "The decisions at this representative forum clearly confirmed the support for the government’s line towards further developing a social state with a high-tech economy. Meanwhile, the people’s assembly also showed that there is a demand in the society, or at least some part of the society, for certain changes, including in social and public life. <....> I will keep repeating that only the Belarusian people have the right to decide their own future," the president stressed.