MOSCOW, 10 June (BelTA) - Russia considers the EU's policy of pressure against Minsk as unacceptable, spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a briefing for the press in Moscow on 10 June, BelTA has learned.
“Apparently, our EU partners chose to follow this rule in everything: the end justifies the means and a number of principles preached by the EU can be sacrificed, if necessary. This also applies to the side effects of sanctions against Minsk. As EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said during the discussion on Belarus on 8 June, ‘you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs'. In this regard I would like to respond to Mr. Josep Borrell: you want to make an omelette, break your own eggs," Maria Zakharova said.
"We consider this logic, which Brussels is now practicing in international relations, as absolutely unacceptable," Maria Zakharova added.
According to the diplomat, the situation with the emergency landing of the Ryanair plane at Minsk airport was just another pretext for upping the sanctions pressure on Belarus. “Our country's negative attitude to the practice of applying unilateral restrictions by the EU is well known. It has not changed. The EU's hasty action, without waiting for an objective international investigation announced by the International Civil Aviation Association (ICAO) raises questions,” Maria Zakharova noted.
She stressed that Russia considers it necessary to thoroughly study the circumstances of what happened with the plane in cooperation with Belarus. She also noted that in this case that Brussels had ignored the ‘green agenda' that it so cares about. Now the EU airlines, which are still reeling from the coronavirus crisis, have to bear additional costs associated with the increased range of flights bypassing Belarus… It is strange that in the implementation of their political decisions they are completely overlooking this interesting nuance,” she added.
