Foreign Ministry of Belarus points to aggressive nature of European Parliament resolution

17 сентября 2020
Today the European Parliament voted for a resolution calling the European Union structures to introduce tough sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. The recommendations include increasing funding for civil society in the country, the suspension of negotiations on the priorities of the European partnership and the cessation of lending by the European Investment Bank and the EBRD. It is noted that the adopted document is classified as "non-legislative", it has a recommendatory character and is not obligatory for the EU institutions and governments of member states. 

 The Foreign Ministry of Belarus pointed to the aggressive nature of the European Parliament resolution

In Belarus, the statement of the European Parliament is considered as the evidence of misunderstanding of the processes taking place in our country. The statement of the Foreign Ministry said that the document is "clearly aggressive in nature and does not contain any constructive or balanced ideas. 

"We are disappointed with how the European Parliament, positioning itself as a serious, objective and democratic structure, could not find in itself the political will to look beyond its nose, overcome one-sidedness and not become a hostage of common stereotypes. Unfortunately, we have also become convinced of the misunderstanding of the processes taking place in Belarus being totally out of whack with reality, for which this body is often criticized by citizens within the EU itself." 

The Foreign Ministry also urged the European Parliament to think about how to really support the sovereignty, independence and stability of Belarus rather than contribute to the sustainable development of its own European continent. 

Moscow responded as well. It criticized the European Parliament resolution as support for the Belarusian opposition. Head of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev called the document "unceremonious interference with the Belarusian affairs, overt and cynical, no matter how smart  it is covered by arguments about democracy."