Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called on the European Union and the U.S. to abandon the policy of sanctions and resume full-scale interaction.

“I am sure the time has come to abandon these artificial barriers and outdated stereotypes and clear the path toward full-format interaction,” Lukashenko said at the Tajik Technological University in Dushanbe.

“Double standards, attempts to apply pressure and whatever sanctions have never been and will never be a constructive element in politics,” he said.

“We cannot be blamed for the complications in relations with the E.U. and the U.S.,” Lukashenko said. “We sincerely seek to maintain neighborliness and constructive interaction,” he said.

“Interest in dialogue and normal relations between us should be objectively present on both sides,” Lukashenko said.  “We are not panhandling for cooperation, but we are offering it,” he said.

Belarus did not initiate its current rift with the United States, Lukashenko said. “On the contrary, Belarus has always been a responsible partner of the United States in combating terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, and trafficking in humans,” he said.

“We are providing some assistance to Washington even today in resolving the well-known problem of Afghanistan,” he said.