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10 November 2021, 18:34

Use of migrant crisis as pretext to impose new sanctions against Belarus viewed as unacceptable

MOSCOW, 10 November (BelTA) - It is unacceptable to use the migrant crisis as a pretext for imposing new sanctions against Belarus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a briefing in Moscow on 10 November, BelTA has learned.

“Of course, we consider it unacceptable to make migration issues a pretext for imposing new sanctions against Belarus and other countries, including the fifth package of sanctions of the European Union,” said Maria Zakharova.

The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the Western countries had not been looking for reasons to impose sanctions before. She suggested that the repeated refusals of Poland and other countries, which Belarus had addressed with a proposal to hold consultations on the migrant issue, were part of a deliberately planned campaign. “Maybe, if we start from the question of who needs it and who is behind it, and listen to the statements that are made about the sanctions, we may arrive at a conclusion that Western ill-wishers of Minsk have in general thought up another plot to use a mechanism of sanctions pressure. This is the impression we get, given the regularity of statements about the need for new sanctions,” said Maria Zakharova.

The representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again focused on the root causes of the migrant crisis. “We have also repeatedly stated that we cannot blame Minsk for another outburst of the migrant crisis in Europe, because it did not start on 21 November, neither in summer 2021 nor in spring 2021; it has been in an active phase for several years, this migrant crisis, this outflow of people from the countries where the so-called developed democracies decided to set their rules. This crisis was caused by Western military interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the consequences of the failed operation in Afghanistan. The things that happened in Afghanistan led to new rounds of the migrant crisis. The connection here is clear. The fact that the migrant crisis itself has been developing for years is well-known to everybody. You can only be unaware if you just started dealing with this topic today,” Maria Zakharova stated.

“Sanctions, as we have all realized, are a favorite policy tool of our Western partners,” Maria Zakharova stressed.

“The EU bordering states prefer to solve the problem not in direct contacts with the Belarusian authorities. They keep on accusing Belarus of some hybrid warfare. We should ask these capitals and representatives of the relevant authorities of these countries: why couldn't they find at least one day and several people over the past six months who could respond to Minsk's proposal to hold the appropriate consultations? There is an impression that the Polish and Lithuanian authorities are trying by all means to create a situation in order to punish Minsk, rather than to resolve the acute humanitarian crisis. I will not talk about what has been violated from humanitarian law, about all those conventions, all sorts of agreements that involve both Poland and Lithuania – that is a separate story,” Maria Zakharova continued.

“Let me remind you that we consider sanctions against sovereign states unacceptable and illegitimate from the standpoint of international law, and reaffirm our determination to fully support Belarus and its people,” the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs concluded.

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