Lukashenko Blames Russia for Misquoting Him on Abkhazia & South Ossetia

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that his Russian colleague, Dmitry Medvedev, distorted his statements on recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,

During a meeting with journalists on August 3, Medvedev said that Lukashenko earlier promised to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Lukashenko made his promise in the presence of several CIS leaders, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said.

Lukashenko, however, that the Russian president “excluded specific expressions.”

“I told him: it’s not a problem for Belarus to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, even today it’s not a problem. But I enumerated to him the problems that would arise for Belarus in its relations with the EU, the United States, the CIS etc.,” Lukashenko said.