On sanctions imposed by the United States against a number of Belarusian entities and individuals

RIA-Novosti: On December 5, 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed yet another package of sanctions against 11 legal entities and 7 individuals of the Republic of Belarus. These individuals are accused of “aggravating the situation in Belarus”. At the same time, sanctions were also imposed on Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Dmitri Shevtsov, who is accused of “harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.” How can the Foreign Ministry comment on such actions of Washington?

Anatoly Glaz, Belarus Foreign Ministry spokesman: Unfortunately, this has already become a routine, a kind of ritual dance for themselves and themselves and their enablers and henchmen who fled Belarus.

Washington turned its diplomacy and relations with other countries into a set of measures of pressure, racketeering and blackmail. That is their choice. But most countries in the world, especially those respecting their peoples and considering themselves sovereign, will never accept such approaches. That is why we are witnessing sharp contradictions in a number of regions of the globe due to Washington's fault. However, global processes cannot be stopped, and the world order will eventually become fairer.

Unilateral sanctions are primitive and illegal methods of coercion, are attempts to subjugate other states to one’s will. Therefore, each successive so-called package is a gross violation of international law on the part of the U.S. For this, of course, sooner or later it will have to bear responsibility. To one degree or another.

Belarusians also understand perfectly well that the real purpose of the U.S. sanctions against economic entities is to worsen the living conditions and situation of labor collectives, ordinary people, to make it difficult for enterprises to meet their social obligations. In a word: to make life worse. Therefore, it is surprising when American colleagues assume in all seriousness that someone still believes in their public statements about “defense of sovereignty” or “support of the Belarusian people”.

In practice, sanctions against Belarusian enterprises are not effective, and sometimes backfire. In this regard, I would not be surprised at the growth of their exports. Otherwise, any attempt to talk to Belarus from the position of diktat is futile.

Of course, personal sanctions against Dmitri Shevtsov stand out. The man is engaged in humanitarian activities, provides assistance, promotes, among other things, the recovery of children from conflict zones in our peaceful country. So the odiousness of this step by Washington is completely obvious.

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