Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei in an interview with RBC spoke about the support that Minsk receives from many countries.
“I do not agree with you that we are left alone together with Russia and that we have no other contacts in the foreign policy sphere. Far from it,” Makei said in response to the remark that only the Russian vector remained in the foreign policy of Belarus .
According to him, Minsk has maintained normal relations with the countries of the so-called long-range arc: China and Pakistan.
“And our relations with the European Union did not stop,” Makei stressed. He explained that in 2020 Belarus increased its trade with a dozen countries.
“Therefore, I would not say that we were left only with Russia and that no one else supports us,” the minister assured.
In Belarus, mass protests continue for six months due to the official results of the presidential elections, according to which Alexander Lukashenko, who ran for a sixth term, won 80 percent of the vote. The first actions were violently dispersed, a number of opposition politicians and activists were arrested or fled from the country, several protesters are known to have died.
The European Union has introduced three packages of sanctions against the authorities of Belarus. Lukashenka and his entourage fell under the restrictions. The US has also adopted sanctions against Minsk.