Belarusian MFA scares of sanctions

Settlement of the situation of the Belarus-EU relations is possible only if the EU restrains from force, Minsk says.

“The mutual settlement of the current dispute is the only reasonable way meeting the interests of both Belarus and the European Union,” Andrei Savinykh, the Belarusian MFA spokesman, told Interfax-Zapad news agency on Wednesday.

“The main question is how to implement it. It absolutely obvious that one can start moving in this direction only through reducing the intensity of the confrontation,” the Belarusian MFA spokesman marked.

Savinykh thinks the practice of extending sanctions by the EU should be stopped. “It does not matter whether the sanctions are effective or not. It is important the practice rules out the possibility of rational rapprochement of views,” the spokesman said. Savinykh added: “When one side is vigorously taking power steps, it is impossible for the other side to put efforts into de-escalation of the tension. The return of the ambassadors is not possible either. It should not be forgotten.”

“The refusal of imposing a power scenario can changes the situation significantly creating preconditions for resolving a range of issues,” the spokesperson of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said. “Belarus adheres to this way,” he emphasized.

“The actions taken by the EU will show their [the EU] choice.

I can say that we stand for settlement, but we are ready for any scenarios,” the MFA spokesman said.