Belarusian leader urges EU to engage with Russia

Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has called on the European Union once again to move away from confrontation and cooperate with Russia.

Source: BelTA, a Belarusian state-owned news outlet, citing Lukashenko during a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Russia's Valaam Island, as reported by European Pravda 

Quote from Lukashenko: "They shouldn’t be locking horns with us, but seek common ground. The European Union and Russia, if united, would become an unstoppable force. Unfortunately, they [EU politicians] fail to grasp this."

Details: According to Lukashenko, the Americans will not allow this, however.

"It’s scary for them. It’s scarier than China would be. If they were to unite, it would be a force. But they don’t understand it. They probably don’t need it either," he claimed.

Background: 

• Earlier, pro-Russian Moldovan Socialist party leader Igor Dodon visited Minsk following a trip to Moscow. He promised Lukashenko he would "take relations" between the two countries to a "new level" if he wins the upcoming elections in Moldova.
• On 26 June, Lukashenko publicly reflected on the reasons why Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refused to visit Belarus for the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

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