MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) – The conference on Belarus proposed by Austria is a fruitless and meaningless idea, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said at a joint press conference following the annual meeting of the Russian-Belarusian ministerial collegium in Moscow on 10 November, BelTA has learned.
"The conference (sponsored, as I understand it, by Austria) is an absolutely fruitless and meaningless idea. Moreover, we consider it as an absolutely unfriendly step towards Belarus. None of Belarusian officials will take part in it. The event will be held for the sake of appearances. Once again they will bring together self-exiled opponents of Belarus' government to discuss the prospects for changing the government in Belarus, without having the slightest ability to do so," Vladimir Makei said.
The minister noted that some media outlets are trying to give significance to this event. They say the conference is meant to contribute to resolving the situation around Belarus. “At the initiative of the Austrian side and personally Mr. Schallenberg [Federal Chancellor of Austria], we discussed this issue, including personally with Mr. Schallenberg. They persistently asked representatives of the Belarusian government to take part in this conference. I believe that this is an absolutely futile and meaningless undertaking taking into account the purpose of this event. They talk about some kind of restoration, reconstruction of Belarus, as if Belarus lay in ruins, with its economy completely destroyed. The situation looks completely different today: the economy is growing in the face of the sanctions, so is the gross domestic product. I have no doubts that despite future sanctions, our state and society will continue with life as normal,” the minister said.
Vladimir Makei noted that the European Union still “has sound voices asking whether the sanctions against Belarus are really working, are they helping resolve this situation or not?”
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov also commented on the matter. He presumed that Austria might have been guided by good intentions, a desire to organize a dialogue. “However, this is not the way to start a dialogue. The initiative manifests a sense of self-superiority, which has become commonplace in the Western community, be it the European Union, NATO or any other sub-regional blocs. This self-righteousness complex is, of course, unacceptable in relations between sovereign states. The European Union must respect the opinion of all members of the international community, as required by the UN Charter, and not interfere with anyone's internal affairs,” said Sergey Lavrov.
According to the media reports, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to host an international conference in Vienna on 22 November to discuss the internal political situation in Belarus. International politicians and experts have been invited to take part in it.
