The restrictive measures of the European Union (EU) in relation to Belarus are non-constructive. This was announced at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus following a meeting between Deputy Minister Sergei Aleinik and EU Ambassador Dirk Schuebel, BelTA informs.
The Foreign Ministry of Belarus advocated the development of relations with the EU. “They stressed interest in developing cooperation with the EU on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborliness,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that there were no reasons for the introduction of economic restrictions against the country and there are no. According to him, Belarusians “did not deserve” the sanctions. “We have been strangled and will continue to be strangled. We must learn to resist this. This is probably the third or fourth stage in strangling the economy and our statehood. We must look at the world more broadly. The EU did not converge with a wedge,” he said.
Lukashenka instructed the government to analyze the sanctions imposed on state enterprises of the republic and develop countermeasures.
On December 17, the EU approved the third package of sanctions against Belarus in connection with the ongoing violence against protesters and the refusal to review the results of the presidential elections. 29 new names and seven enterprises were added to the sanctions list. Great Britain joined the sanctions on December 18.
In Belarus, protests have continued for the sixth month after the presidential elections on August 9. The actions are harshly suppressed by the security forces. Tens of thousands of people were detained, and many spoke of torture and beatings in isolation wards. Four people were killed in clashes with security forces.