MINSK, 17 March (BelTA) - The decision of the Council of Europe to suspend cooperation with Belarus puts on pause constructive interaction in a number of areas, including on the issue of death penalty, reads the commentary of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the adoption of the relevant decision of the Council of Europe, BelTA has learned.
"It is regrettable to see that the Council of Europe predictably followed the lead of those forces in the West who, amid the events in Ukraine, seek to limit as much as possible or completely block the channels for international dialogue, to build new artificial dividing lines in Europe," the commentary says.
This situation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once again clearly demonstrates that neither the member states of the Council of Europe, nor the countries with which this organization cooperates, can be protected from the voluntarism of the Western coalition, which pursues exclusively its own narrow geopolitical interest rather than act on the basis of their own values.
"Taking such a short-sighted position, seeking short-term political benefits are detrimental primarily to this organization, which deprives itself of the opportunity to share its expertise within the framework of the large-scale modernization of state and public relations carried out in our country," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
This decision of the Council of Europe puts on pause constructive interaction with Belarus in a number of areas, including on the issue of the death penalty, the ministry stated.
"While being committed to resuming the dialogue, we nevertheless intend to conduct an audit of the legal mechanisms of the Council of Europe, which Belarus participates, from the point of view of their relevance and compliance with our national interests at this stage," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed.
