MINSK, 30 December (BelTA) - Russia is convinced that it's up to the Belarusian people and their legitimate representatives to decide their country's future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with TASS.
"Foreign meddling in the domestic affairs of the former Soviet states did not begin yesterday. It's enough to recall the February 2014 coup d'etat and the forcible seizure of power in Ukraine, which was backed by Washington and Brussels. This outgoing year saw an attempt to use a similar scenario of a color revolution in Belarus," Russia's top diplomat said.
According to Lavrov, Moscow saw time and again that "in the pursuit of geopolitical gains Western colleagues easily sacrifice the stability of entire states, cause an ethnic discord and drive a wedge between sisterly nations." "Divide and conquer” is a motto used by the historic West, Sergey Lavrov noted.
"We consider that it's up to the Belarusian people and their legitimate representatives to decide the future of Belarus, rather than imposters and their Western sponsors," Sergey Lavrov said.