MINSK, 11 November (BelTA) - The European Union needs to understand that economic sanctions and restrictions do not contribute to dispute resolution, member of the House of Representatives Valentina Nazarenko told BelTA.
“On 9 November, the European Union suspended visa facilitation provisions for Belarusian officials. In its statement the EU Council said that this decision is a response to the alleged ‘ongoing hybrid attack launched by Belarus', which implies the migrant crisis on the border of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. I should say that all this comes from helplessness, misunderstanding and unfriendly attitude of the European Union towards our country. The European Union, the European Parliament should have realized long time ago that economic sanctions and restrictions do not contribute to the resolution of any disputes," the MP said.
She recalled that in October, in response to the unfriendly steps of the EU, the Belarusian MPs adopted the law "On the suspension of the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the readmission of persons residing without authorization”.
“Given today's state of relations with the EU, Belarus is not obliged to bear additional costs on readmission of foreign nationals or stateless persons who do not fulfill the conditions in force for entry, presence or residence on the territory of our country. At the same time, the Belarusian border is guarded, checkpoints work as usual,” Valentina Nazarenko noted. “Today we see what the ‘EU democracy' is in relation to migrants, including women and children who are forced to leave their countries that have been in turmoil in the wake of the West's interference, and who seek asylum in the EU. They are all headed to Germany, which invited them in the past. What is happening today on the Belarusian-Polish border is a true blackmail and provocations, another violation of fundamental international documents by the EU states. As an MP and as a person, I condemn the actions of the European Union in relation to the migrant crisis, the shocking mistreatment of migrants by the law enforcement agencies of the neighboring countries, and the sanctions and restrictive sectoral measures imposed against Belarus.”
