MINSK, 19 June (BelTA) – Rather serious, convincing facts were presented during the meeting with ambassadors of European Union countries and the USA at premises of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 June. The facts testify that certain individuals have committed specific crimes relating to money laundering and tax evasion. Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei made the relevant statement while talking to reporters online after meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on 19 June, BelTA has learned. The Russian minister of foreign affairs is in Belarus on a working trip.
Vladimir Makei noted: “We had a serious, pragmatic, committed conversation. As for the behavior of the chairman of the State Control Committee, I should say that in my opinion he presented rather serious, convincing facts that testify that certain individuals have committed specific crimes relating to money laundering and tax evasion. As you know, such things are punished very seriously in any country.”
Asked who initiated the meeting, Vladimir Makei said: “In the period of some important political campaigns and if, so to speak, the situation is aggravated, we traditionally invite foreign diplomatic missions, primarily heads of diplomatic missions from European Union member states, representatives of the USA, some other European countries in order to express the official stance on the matter the countries are interested in. We endeavored to explain the position yesterday. In any case, nobody can blame us now for rejecting a dialogue or being afraid of the dialogue. Nobody can say we don't want to talk to the diplomats, who are accredited in Belarus.”
“If diplomats view such invitations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the explanation of the official information as a manifestation of aggressiveness on the part of representatives of government agencies, one starts to wonder whether the right diplomat stays here and whether the diplomat does the job correctly,” Vladimir Makei continued. “Yesterday the minister of foreign affairs may have responded possibly a bit sharply to a statement made by one of the diplomats. Why? Because from our point of view diplomats staying in any country – either Belarusian diplomats, or Russian diplomats, or a foreign diplomat accredited here – should convey to the capital cities of their countries absolutely objective information based both on sources originating from opponents of the authorities, so to say, and based on official information originating from the authorities.”
The Belarusian minister of foreign affairs noted it is absolutely unacceptable to use only one kind of information sources.
“We will continue the practice of inviting heads of diplomatic missions of the European Union countries and other Western countries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the sake of conveying official information about events going on in Belarus,” Vladimir Makei stated. “If someone views it as some aggressive aspect towards them, they are free not to come.”
BelTA reported earlier that a meeting with ambassadors of countries of the European Union and the head of the U.S. diplomatic mission took place at premises of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 June. Within the framework of the investigation into the criminal case involving Belgazprombank executives the Belarusian side had already sent letters to a number of countries in order to inform them about the proceedings and answer their questions. In order to work out possible avenues of interaction the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an additional meeting of the foreign diplomats with Chairman of the State Control Committee Ivan Tertel. The official informed the diplomats about progress of the investigation in detail and presented proposals on consequent cooperation.
