Photo: president.gov.by

Belarus President has recently made some changes to the government. Sergei Rumas, who headed by the Development Bank, was appointed Prime Minister. First Deputy Prime Minister is Alexander Turchin, Deputy Prime Ministers are now Igor Lyashenko, Vladimir Kuharev, Igor Petrishenko, new top officials were assigned to the Ministry of Construction and Architecture, Industry, Economy, Communication and Information.

Belarus will never be subordinate to any country, Alexander Lukashenko said as he made appointments in government. According to the President, Belarus and Russia enjoy most developed relations, but Belarus wants Russia to follow the agreements the parties have signed:

"I do not report to the Kremlin. We have agreed upon the framework of our relations, and those are most advanced within the Union of Belarus and Russia. We have signed over a hundred agreements, we can talk and take decisions even informally, we have very close relations. But there's one thing we want from Russia. If Russia signs an agreement with Belarus we expect it to be followed without fail. I can openly state that we will never be subordinate to any other country. Some already say that Belarus should become part of Russia. But no Belarusian politician would survive after taking such a decision.

Also, there's no need for such moves in today's world. We can address our problems and cooperate within the Union State. Russia is the closest ally. We are in fact descendants of the same people, we and Ukrainians. We don't want a conflict with Russia, and neither does the Russian Federation. We are its only window to the west, a transit corridor. Russia needs stability in Belarus. It is afraid of losing us. Some say that Belarus has turned to the West, but this is not true. We don not intend to do so. We are destined by God to remain here, in the center of Europe".