Minsk, 11 April 1997 (RFE/RL) - Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said today no one -- "either in the West or in the East " -- had the right to give Minsk grades for political behavior.
In his first address to Parliament after a controversial November constitutional referendum, Lukashenka also said the international isolation of his country was gradually fading away.
Lukashenka, who last week signed a watered-down version of a union treaty with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Belarus saw its security guarantees as linked with the union of the two countries.
Russian news agencies earlier today reported that in a live talk show on Belarusian television last night Lukashenka said his country seeks cordial relations with the United states. In a message to U.S. President Bill Clinton, Lukashenka had said that the expulsions of U.S. citizens last month should be viewed as exceptions. Clinton has not replied to Lukashenka's message.
In his first address to Parliament after a controversial November constitutional referendum, Lukashenka also said the international isolation of his country was gradually fading away.
Lukashenka, who last week signed a watered-down version of a union treaty with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, said Belarus saw its security guarantees as linked with the union of the two countries.
Russian news agencies earlier today reported that in a live talk show on Belarusian television last night Lukashenka said his country seeks cordial relations with the United states. In a message to U.S. President Bill Clinton, Lukashenka had said that the expulsions of U.S. citizens last month should be viewed as exceptions. Clinton has not replied to Lukashenka's message.