MINSK, April 23 (BelTA) – Belarus should be the bridge to connect the East and the West, said President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in his State of the Nation Address to the Belarusian people and the parliament on April 23. An active balanced foreign policy, which uses hardline approaches to protect and promote national interests, is of particular importance these days, stressed the head of state. Belarus will not bend to the will of those claiming that Belarus has to choose between Russia or Europe. “To be the connecting bridge between the East and the West is our task. Avoiding fluctuations in our foreign policy brings dividends. Today, during the global crisis. Relations with the European Union are getting smoother while the strategic partnership with the Russian Federation is maintained. Our efforts are even more productive in other parts of the planet. The basic principle of the Belarusian foreign policy — multiple vectors — is coming true”. Among the essential changes secured in recent years the President named the growing trust in the government as a solid, consistent and predictable partner, including trust among those who had negative stereotypes until a while ago. Alexander Lukashenko underscored that major initiatives of Belarus in the United Nations Organisation concerning the prohibition of development and manufacturing of new weapons of mass destruction, counteraction of slave trade and setting up a UN-sponsored mechanism to enable any country to access modern energy technologies have been backed by an overwhelming majority of nations. The President said Belarus will be consistent in supporting the idea of enhancing the UN role in resolving global problems, the idea of using UN instruments fully without substituting them with actions of individual countries or a group of countries.

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