BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/07/2007

Belarusian President Says EU 'Keeping Mum' As U.S. Presence Grows

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on July 10 said that NATO enlargement and the planned deployment of elements of a U.S. missile-defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic constitute a much greater security threat to other European countries than to Belarus, Belapan reported. "The U.S. is increasing its presence in the region without consulting its European partners," Lukashenka said. "The Europeans are pretending not to notice this and are keeping mum about it, but we know what such silence can lead to." Lukashenka also said he ranks energy cooperation as a top priority in dialogue between Belarus and the EU, and accused European politicians of laxness in dealing with energy security. "The Europeans should have addressed this problem long ago, rather than waiting until the [gas] crisis in the relationship between Belarus and Russia, which badly hit the EU." AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/07/3-cee/cee-110707.asp