Makei: Belarusians do not trust partners who play double game

Vladimir Makei spoke about the incident with the Ryanair plane and pointed out a crucial issue that also concerns the operation of the Belarusian air carrier Belavia. “Ok, we got it. You [the West] have voiced your political objections to the Belarusian authorities. But why do you punish ordinary people and what does a respectable air carrier that transports passengers have to do with this? This is the same company that you, Sweden, the United States, the UK, Ukraine, publicly thanked for helping evacuate your stranded citizens during the pandemic,” Vladimir Makei said.

“We should openly say that not only the Belarusian authorities, but also ordinary people have almost no trust in the partners who are continuously and hypocritically playing a double game. In light of this, we have to and we will respond to any unfriendly actions against Belarus,” Vladimir Makei said. According to him, Belarus' retaliatory measures may affect various avenues of cooperation with the European Union.

"Normal, from the point of view of common sense, interests of the West, its citizens and our citizens are sacrificed quickly and without hesitation for the sake of achieving a certain goal," the minister said.

He quoted former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton as saying just two weeks ago: "Ukraine and Belarus should be admitted to NATO in order to eliminate the ‘gray zone' that has arisen between Russia and the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. Belarus is the hardest challenge of all, with alliance membership inconceivable for quite some time. Yet however difficult it may be, the U.S. cannot leave Belarus to Moscow uncontested." These are the words of the retired official, who, incidentally, visited Belarus and is a mouthpiece of real sentiments in Washington and the West as a whole.

“This is not about human rights concerns, but about someone's specific interests. This is the diplomatic reality of our country for now,” Vladimir Makei added.

According to him, the country maintains constructive relations with the majority of its partners in various parts of the world, no matter how much the exiled enemies of independent Belarus want the opposite. “We have expressed our openness and readiness to solve any issues to our partners at various levels. However, no all want to listen to our arguments,” Vladimir Makei said.