Minsk/Agency Caucasus – Belarus might recognize the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the near future, Byelorussian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
"The time will come for us to discuss, just as Russia did, whether we should recognize South Ossetia or not. We have the parliamentary elections ahead of us. After new members of the parliament are sworn in, they will ask us for our opinion as to what to do about South Ossetia and Abkhazia. And we will not remain silent, of course," said Lukashenko.
"The question of whether or not to recognize the independence of both South Ossetia and Abkhazia is not a matter of whether only Russia wants to recognize them or not," Lukashenko said and added that he has maintained warm relations with President Sergei Bagapsh of Abkhazia for a long time.
While the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, was formed, Belarus prevented Georgia from proposing to impose an embargo on Abkhazia, the president of Belarus said.
Vasili Dolgoyev, Byelorussian Ambassador to Moscow, said on August 28 that his government would take a step towards recognizing the independence of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the near future.
KU/ÖZ/HT
