Bogdan Yaremenko: Ukraine Should Dramatically Change Its Policy Towards Belarus

It is expected that Ukrainian diplomats will be deported from Belarus soon.

The head of the fund Maidan of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Yaremenko commented on the detention of the journalist of Ukrainian Radio Pavel Sharoiko and the deportation of the counsellor of the Ukrainian Embassy Igor Skvortsov to the web site of Charter97.org:

– I believe that this is somehow connected with the fears that Kiev expressed about the Russian-Belarusian military exercises West-2017, as well as the case of the Ukrainian citizen Pavel Grib, who was detained in Homel.

Belarus creates a negative image of Kiev in hindsight. These are obvious attempts to show Ukraine as an aggressively acting state engaged in provocations on the territory of Belarus. The Ukrainian authorities have made a lot of mistakes in relations with Belarus, trying to flirt with Lukashenka and now will have to pay for it.

Ukrainian authorities will have to dramatically change its policy towards Belarus. As for arrests, detentions and deportation of diplomats, official Kiev should act in a mirror manner, expelling Belarusian diplomats from the territory of Ukraine.