BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/04/2007

We Ask Europe And The US For Nothing - Lukashenko

Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko considers China to be Belarus' 'leading international ally', as he said in a speech to parliament on Tuesday, quoted by DPA news agency.

'We have done extremely well developing economic relations with China', said Lukashenko adding: 'This is the route that we should take'.

Lukashenko's pointed the delicate situation between Moscow and Belarus since the countries fell out in January over the price of Russian fuel deliveries while trade between China and Belarus bloomed in 2006, 'going from almost nothing to more than 1 billion dollars a year' the president added.

According to Lukashenko this is 'not just in simple cheap items, but also in the fields of advanced technologies and investment'. He predicted that if things will remain the same, Chinese business invest over two billion dollars in the Belarusian economy by the end of 2007.

On the other hand, Lukashneko said Europe and the US are not as supportive: 'We need and indeed already today we have alternatives'. 'We ask Europe and the US for nothing', he added.

Source:

http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_25704-We-Ask-Europe-And-The-US-For-Nothing-Lukashenko.html