Ambassador Of Ukraine In Minsk: My Words Taken Out Of Context

Igor Kizim expressed bafflement at the summons to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

Igor Kizim expressed bafflement about the summons to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus on the issue of "tendentious statements in the media in relation to the Slavic Brotherhood - 2017 military exercises," – nn.by reports.

"I am sorry that the tut.by reporter cut something from my speech that wasn't the main there," – ambassador Kizim told reporters during the meeting at the Ukrainian Embassy in Minsk dedicated to the Constitution Day of Ukraine. The ambassador noted that the Belarusian diplomatic department paid attention not even to his speech, but to his remark, which he made as a listener from the audience during a discussion at a conference. The ambassador also noted that he was invited to the Foreign Ministry a week after the publication of that remark.

"I [at the conference] was surprised that they recalled the Ukrainian experience in a negative sense, –the ambassador said. – Maybe my mistake was that I was too open [while reacting to this], – the Ukrainian ambassador noted. – My main idea was that there should be more transparency. Belarus, if it wants to be heard, should act with more openness. Since so much attention is paid to the West-2017 military exercises, there should be more openness," – the ambassador stressed.

When asked whether Ukraine has any concerns about the future West-2017 exercises, ambassador Kizim said: "We can trust the words of the Belarusian President. It was declared that there would be no threat to Ukraine from the borders of Belarus, – the ambassador said and added. – But I do not trust Russians, because Russia has violated all agreements with Ukraine."

When asked about the detention of a Belarusian citizen in Chernigov on suspicion of espionage against Ukraine, the ambassador referred to official information that that man was suspected of working for Russia.

When asked about the preparation of Lukashenka's visit to Ukraine, ambassador Kizim responded that the preparation was going in line with the plan at the level of the working groups. The Belarusian-Ukrainian business forum will be held during the visit, and a number of agreements are expected to be signed. "The vast majority of issues will be related to economic relations, – the diplomat noted. – This is the development of the agreements [reached by Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Petro Poroshenko at the meeting] in Lyaskovichi," – ambassador Kizim said.

It should be noted that Aliaksandr Lukashenka's visit should take place before the end of the summer, i.e. before the West-2017 exercises scheduled for September, and such timing can be regarded as the desire of Minsk to show that these exercises are not directed against Ukraine.