VITEBSK, 3 June (BelTA) - The actions of Western countries towards Russia and Belarus have been aggressive. But Russia, like Belarus, will defend its right to sovereign development, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) director Sergei Naryshkin said at a meeting with the leadership of the State Security Committee of Belarus in Vitebsk on 3 June, BelTA has learned.
The State Security Committee of the Republic of Belarus and the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation held the 20th collegium meeting in Vitebsk on 3 June.
After the meeting with the leadership of the State Security Committee, Sergei Naryshkin answered journalists' questions. One of them was about restrictions and sanctions against Russia and official Minsk. “We assess the actions of Western countries as aggressive, outside the framework of international law. I must say that in the Russian Federation these actions are perceived very negatively by our citizens. Our citizens are growing increasingly opposed to such policies of Western countries. I think that similar sentiments are happening in the Belarusian society. These are all elements of a hybrid warfare. These are aggressive actions. The term ‘unfriendly steps' is very soft. These aggressive actions are directed against the sovereignty of our countries, and we will not tolerate them. We will defend the universal values that we cherish. We will defend our right to pursue sovereign development, to choose our own path of development, no matter what,” Sergei Naryshkin stressed.
