The Council of Europe intends to strengthen cooperation with Belarus

February 25, Kyiv / Tatyana Polezhay - BELTA /. The Council of Europe intends to strengthen cooperation with Belarus. This was discussed today at a meeting in Kyiv between President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey, BELTA correspondent reports. Micheline Calmy-Rey noted that, while heading the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, she set a priority goal to work on strengthening the cooperation of the Council of Europe with Belarus, as Belarus is part of Europe. The President of Belarus confirmed his readiness to answer all questions and discuss Belarus's relations with the European Union, keeping in mind that Switzerland plays a significant role in Europe today. Speaking about bilateral contacts between Belarus and Switzerland, he noted that the huge potential for cooperation between the two countries is far from exhausted. "I would not say that we have many problems in our relations with Switzerland, on the contrary, recently they have been developing quite well. I am ready to discuss the directions of our cooperation with you, including," said the head of the Belarusian state. Alexander Lukashenko, taking the opportunity, invited Micheline Calmy-Rey to visit Minsk "to talk more broadly and in detail about the problems that Belarus has to resolve in its relations with the European Union." "If you have the opportunity, I will be waiting for you in Minsk and will gladly continue this conversation," he said, addressing his interlocutor. In turn, Micheline Calmy-Rey agreed that there are no problems in the relations between the two countries and that Belarus and Switzerland can mutually do even more. -0-