Belarus is ready to hold talks on normalizing relations with any country, said Natalya Eismant, press secretary to Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
“We are ready and open to negotiate with any country on normalizing relations and resolving all difficult situations. In this case, it depends on our neighbors,” Eismant told RIA Novosti when asked about the possibility of organizing talks on reopening border checkpoints with Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.
Speaking about the upcoming negotiations with Lithuania, Eismant noted that Belarus “is ready for anything.”
“Both the format and the content of the talks are determined by the two sides. I think they will decide. We are ready for anything,” she said.
Lukashenka’s press secretary also stressed that the Belarusian side closely monitors shipments from Russia to Kaliningrad.
“And regarding Russia in this context, I would like to remind you that we are two countries within the Union State. I must note that we are carefully monitoring the transit of Russian goods to Kaliningrad. We control and track it. Everyone has heard the threats concerning this issue, and the president has responded to them — just as they would in Russia, or even more firmly. And so far, note that the cargo is still moving,” she said. Lithuania earlier stated that it is considering a ban on the transit of Belarusian, not Russian, goods to Kaliningrad.
Earlier today, Lukashenka heard reports from Ivan Tertel, head of the KGB, Maksim Ryzhankou, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Kanstantsin Molastau, Chairman of the State Border Committee. He instructed Ryzhenkov to organize negotiations with Lithuania “on normalizing the situation and resuming the full operation of border checkpoints along the shared frontier.”