MINSK, 31 May (BelTA) – Belarus' Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei commented on the European Union's plans to support the development of democracy in the country during his interview to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, BelTA has learned.
“The Belarusian government opponents, who are currently self-exiled, say that the European Union has already pledged €3 billion for Belarus. It will be used to promote democratic reforms by destroying everything that has been done for the last 25 years and building a new democratic state on these ruins. Speaking in Parliament, the president said that they had been talking about these billions since 2010. Back then, I think they promised €5 billion. Now it is less a bit. That €5 billion was nowhere to be seen. The €3 billion, which the EU has supposedly put aside to build a new democratic Belarus, is not the money that can radically change the situation in the state. It's a small fraction of our exports,” Vladimir Makei said.
The minister also spoke about the Western sanctions policy towards Belarus and Russia. He stressed that these are the unilateral measures by individual states or groups of states that are regulated by their internal documents. “Should the European Union want to impose sanctions, they invent some human rights pretext and impose sanctions against a country. This also applies to the United States. Such measures affect a country's economy and citizens. It is raising eyebrow when European politicians say that sanctions are designed to harm the government, that they are pinpointed and will not affect people. Sanctions do affect people, it should be understood by all," Vladimir Makei said.
