A call for new presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus is a politicized and thoughtless step from the Verkhovna Rada, which could jeopardise Ukraine's relations with this neighbouring state and, in particular, could jeopardise the work of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk, destroying the platform for dialogue. This is why I voted against the corresponding draft Resolution in the Parliament today.

Only interests of Ukraine, and not those of third parties, should be the priority of our foreign policy. And interests of Ukraine consist in preserving and developing good neighbourly relations with the Republic of Belarus.

Belarus and its President Alexander Lukashenko have always been very correct and friendly towards Ukraine, not recognizing the annexation of Crimea and providing a platform for negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the situation in the Donbas.

We do not have any reliable information about violations during the elections in Belarus. Not a single international commitment undertaken by Ukraine obliges our state to give its assessment of the democratic nature of the elections held in other state, while at the same time, Ukraine undertook an obligation to respect the expression of will of the Belarusian people. In this situation, the best solution would be to refrain from any interference in the internal affairs of Belarus. I express my absolute disagreement with this statement.

Acts of cruelty from law enforcement agencies and the use of force against peaceful demonstrators do not have right to exist either in Belarus or in the USA, Germany or France, or in other states where such facts have been recorded lately.