MINSK, 16 May (BelTA) – The sanctions have become an instrument of hybrid aggression, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said in an interview with the TV channel Al Arabiya, BelTA has learned.
“We unequivocally interpret the sanctions not just as an instrument of pressure, but an instrument of hybrid aggression. This is probably the last stage that precedes a classical armed aggression. The purpose of the current sanctions, in contrast to what sanctions are usually supposed to achieve, is to bring the country to its knees, stifle it economically and achieve by force the fulfillment of some demands or conditions. This is what we are seeing now,” Roman Golovchenko stressed.
According to him, due to the sanctions, almost all Belarus' exports to the countries of the European Union and North America were blocked. “This amounts to about $16-18 billion a year. Naturally, we cannot lose this export and need to re-direct it to other markets, including the markets of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf. This is what we are currently working on,” the prime minister said.
