Nobody congratulated Makei
- 4.09.2012, 13:19
There are a lot of talks recently about the fact that the EU doesn’t have a clear strategy for the development of relations with Belarus.
That is also the opinion of Estonian political activist, journalist and chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of Estonian Parliament Marco Mihkelson.
"I agree with the fact that the foreign policy of the EU is under development of many directions, and Belarus in this sense is not an exception, - expressed the Politician his opinion during the debate "The EU and Belarus: prospects", which took place last week in Tallinn with participation of national experts and journalists. - We say that the European Union must speak in one voice, have a coherent position on most issues. And now, when Belarus has changed its Minister of Foreign Affairs, officials in the EU think, whether to send him greetings or not. And all look at Brussels, and thence officials rest - the holiday season is just ending ...
There is an opinion that one should work with the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, but without changing his status of banned entry to the EU. So it’ll be interesting for me to watch how this would happen in a real way ..."
"Narodnaya Volya" asked at the Foreign Ministry, who has already sent his congratulations to Vladimir Makei.
- There is no such tradition - said spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Andrej Savinykh. - Congratulations are sent after the people's will. For example, if it were a presidential election, there is a greeting tradition. And it is not written anywhere, so no one is obliged to do so by the protocol.
But in Tehran, I think, many shook the hand of our minister and said, "Nice to meet you!" It is a common practice when people meet, get acquanted with each other, and add: "By the way, I am glad to testify my respects to you, we shall work together". So it's much more prosaic ...
However, it is worth noting that some newly assigned foreign ministers of other countries still receive greetings. Despite the alleged lack of protocol traditions. And the news of this are places on websites of foreign ministries of different countries. Internet search engines simply give references to them. Congratulations on your appointment are usually sent by the heads of international organizations, politicians, and diplomats. For instance, a few years ago, such cards was accepting the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Konstantin Grishchenko.
"Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski congratulated Konstantin Grishchenko with appointment to the post of Foreign Minister of Ukraine, and invited him to visit Poland - informed the public spokesman of the Polish Foreign Ministry Potr Paszkowski. - Mr. Minister was one of the first, if not the first to congratulate Mr. Konstantin Grishchenko with the appointment. "
Gryshchenko’s predecessor also received congratulations from around the world - "the newly appointed minister was receiving congratulations from heads of government agencies in China, Israel, Poland, Lithuania and other countries".
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was in Minsk just a few days before the appointment of Foreign Minister Makei, also sends congratulatory messages to their colleagues. Here, for example, the text of his congratulations to the Minister of the Slovak Republic: "Dear Mr. Minister, please accept my sincere congratulations on your appointment to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. Russian Federation appreciate friendly, partnership character of relations with Slovakia, the current level of understanding and cooperation in bilateral and international affairs. I would like to confirm our interest in continuation a constructive dialogue between our foreign affairs agencies in the spirit of mutual respect, in the interests of the two peoples, in strengthening security and stability in Europe. May I wish you every success in his new position, as well as good health and prosperity. "
Some might say, Ha! There is nothing to worry about! - a trifle! Maybe so, but, on the other hand, there can be no trifles in diplomacy...