Lavrov: Mentality of many Western politicians is affected by consequences of the colonial system

MOSCOW, 1 September (BelTA) - The mentality of many Western politicians is affected by the consequences of the colonial system, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said as he commented on the situation around Belarus in his speech in front of the students and teachers of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on 1 September, BelTA has learned.

Sergey Lavrov believes that some Western states are not ready to recognize the objective reality of the formation of a new system of relations in the world. “I view the attempts to ignore this reality and the attempts to prevent the formation of such relations that would fully respect these new achievements of many countries as short-sighted and dangerous. Our Western colleagues, who have been setting the tone in world affairs for almost half a millennium, controlled the economy through colonial conquests, and ensured the smooth functioning of their elites through the removal of natural resources from colonies. Over these 500 years, of course, a lot has happened, but even after the colonial system collapsed, the relationship between mentor and mentee, master and assistant still had a significant impact on the mentality of Western politicians,” he said.

The Russian minister is convinced that there is no need for intrusive mediation services to resolve the situation in Belarus today. “We believe that there is no need for any intrusive mediation services. We will be guided by international law, the obligations that exist between us and the Republic of Belarus. We want the Belarusians themselves to be given an opportunity to solve their problems without any interference from outside,” he said.

In this regard, Sergey Lavrov recalled the constitutional reform initiated by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. “According to our common assessment, this is the form in which a dialogue with civil society can be organized and which should make it possible to discuss all those issues which are of concern to a certain part of Belarusian citizens,” he added.

“Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke about the constitutional reform before the election. He said that the reform should be depersonalized and imply the stability of the political system of Belarus regardless of the personality. He said that he was ready to start developing the reform,” Sergey Lavrov said.

The Russian minister emphasized the attempts to rock the situation in Belarus from the outside, which are obvious to the Russian side. “In fact, no one is hiding them. In my opinion, our Lithuanian neighbors have already crossed all the facets of decency in the demand they put forward. We have reason to believe that they and Mrs. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya are using undemocratic methods and methods that do not show much respect for the sovereignty of Belarus,” Sergey Lavrov said.

He added that the attempts to put pressure on Belarus through sanctions are unacceptable. “We are convinced that the Belarusian people have every opportunity to solve this problem independently. Yes, there are issues that need to be discussed, it is obvious. We consider it unacceptable in the modern world to try to immediately act as a certain judge, as our Western colleagues are trying to do, to immediately pass their sentences, to try to execute these sentences by imposing sanctions and other threats,” said the Russian minister of foreign affairs.

Sergey Lavrov called such approaches the habits manifested primarily in Belarus' neighbors, who want to drag all EU members to their rigid platform. “We know that this causes serious discomfort for those countries that are considered to be Old Europe, which understand the need to act in a balanced way and who feel discomfort because of such rough, direct, and frank interference in the internal affairs of any state,” he said.

Sergey Lavrov noted that some European countries, primarily the Baltic states, demand that the Belarusian leadership agree to the OSCE mediation. According to the Russian minister of foreign affairs, there is a question: “Why didn't the OSCE come to observe the election in Belarus, despite receiving an invitation? We were told that the invitation was late,” Sergey Lavrov said. “There are no requirements in the OSCE that observers should be invited more than a month in advance. There are no parameters specified there at all,” he stressed.