Belarus Offers Minsk Platform for European Integration - Foreign Minister

Belarus is ready to provide a platform for the convergence of integration processes in Central and Eastern Europe, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Wednesday.

MINSK (Sputnik) — As the minister noted, today's meetings in Minsk provide a timely opportunity to discuss the potential joint contribution of the countries to the current European agenda, with a special focus on the Eastern Neighborhood of the European Union.

"Belarus is a resolute and committed supporter of integration and is offering the Minsk platform for strengthening interconnections and convergence of integration processes in Central and Eastern Europe," Makei said at a meeting with foreign ministry representatives of the Visegrad Group (V4) and Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries in Minsk.

Makei stressed that "the practical interaction between the Visegrad Group and the countries of the Eastern Partnership is becoming more relevant than ever," and that "these subregional integration initiatives unite the states that are located between the major centers of European forces, and traditionally strive for self-determination and sustainable development."

According to him, the Belarus Presidency of the Central European Initiative (CEI) in 2017 also aims at "promoting compatibility within the whole of Europe."

In 2017, Belarus took over the annually rotating chairmanship of the Central European Initiative regional intergovernmental forum, selecting "Promoting connectivity in a Wider Europe" as its main theme for the presidency. Founded in 1989, the CEI, which is now made up of 18 member states, aims to foster stable relationships between Central, Western, and Eastern European countries.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia are the current members of V4. The Eastern Partnership is composed of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.