Today there is an imbalance "in the OSCE's focus on the West's issues and the East's issues," Mr. Lukashenko said in Minsk during a meeting with the incumbent OSCE chairman, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy.
"The OSCE must not pay any less attention to the developments in Belarus than to the developments in Western countries," he said. "The situation in Belarus is not worse than in any other European country."
Belarus, as a sovereign state, will build its life itself and take into consideration international standards, the president added.
"It is not normal when OSCE members teach us, also a member of the OSCE, how to live," he said. "We will not allow anybody to try to make us work like somebody else wants."
According to him, Belarus cannot ignore the fact that it is in the center of Europe and must develop while taking the interests of its neighbors into account.
Speaking about the OSCE's activity, Mr. Lukashenko noted: "This organization will not be able to avoid serious reforms. Recently, the situation has made us pay serious attention to the main trends in the OSCE's activity." In his opinion, the OSCE has turned into an instrument for solving minor issues in Europe.
The incumbent OSCE Chairman arrived on a two-day working visit to Minsk yesterday. On Tuesday, Mr. Passy met with representatives of the Belarusian opposition and the leadership of the Belarusian parliament. On Wednesday, he will conduct negotiations in the Foreign Ministry.
