MINSK, 6 April (BelTA) - The West believes that it has an exclusive right to impose sanctions on any country, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Mongolia Dmitry Gorelik said in an interview with GoGo Mongolia, BelTA has learned.
“This is not the first time we have been under the sanctions of the West. Western countries believe that they have an exclusive right to impose political and economic sanctions on any country they want. We have been preparing for these sanctions for a long time. We held regular negotiations with Russia and other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union and worked to mitigate their consequences,” the diplomat said.
According to Dmitry Gorelik, sanctions pressure some sectors of the economy, but there is nothing critical in them. “First of all, we have developed compensatory and protective mechanisms. Secondly, new opportunities open up to develop trade with other countries. Our country's interests do not end with the Western world. There are opportunities to expand economic ties with China, India, South America and African countries. That is why I do not think it will have a huge impact on our country's economy. Besides, lately Western sanctions have gone beyond comprehension, they have become meaningless. They ban Russian culture, music and even cats!” the ambassador said.
“They say sports should not be mixed with politics, but we all saw what happened at the Beijing Paralympics. This is beyond good and evil! What is the point of these sanctions? It feels like they just want to bite harder. Recently, Western countries and Ukraine have also attempted to exclude Russia and Belarus from international organizations, such as the UN and UNESCO, the WTO, the IAEA, the World Bank, the IMF. The EBRD closed its representative offices in Belarus and Russia, and they say: “We will not cooperate with these countries anymore”. Why? Because someone in the West has decided so. This process is a road to nowhere. It voids the whole essence of the existence of international organizations,” the ambassador stressed.
