Rachkov about unacceptability of West’s lies

Belarus and Russia will not tolerate the lies of western countries regarding the situation with refugees on the border of Belarus with the EU, the Chairman of the Standing Commission for Foreign Affairs and National Security of the Council of the Republic at the National Assembly of Belarus, Sergei Rachkov, told journalists on the sidelines of the second meeting of the 61st session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia in Moscow – as reported by BelTA

“We are not going to keep silence when we see what is happening on the Belarusian-Polish border,” said the parliamentarian. “Right now, the Polish soldier asked for political asylum in Belarus and tells how the Polish side actually destroyed those refugees whom Belarus provided all kinds of humanitarian aid and other possible assistance. However, we hear, on the contrary, other assessments made, particularly, by the parliaments of a number of neighbouring countries, accusing Belarus of organising a hybrid attack on the EU states. This is an outright lie, we are not going to tolerate it. I’m confident that those comments which are done by the parliamentarians of Russia and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clearly give a signal to the collective West that Belarus and Russia are together in this issue.”

Sergei Rachkov stressed that the Belarusian and Russian sides are actively co-operating in countering the sanctions pressure from the West. “Now the collective West is attacking not only Belarus, but also Russia,” he said. “Therefore, the programme that coordinates the activities of Belarus and Russia in foreign policy is now especially relevant. Our foreign ministries are very actively liaising, as are our parliaments. In particular, it should be noted that by joint efforts the delegations of the Russian Parliament and the National Assembly of Belarus managed to block the inclusion of an emergency issue on the situation in Belarus into the agenda of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Our friendly states of the post-Soviet space, the countries of Africa and Asia also took an active part in this.”

The parliamentarian stated that the current international situation requires joint efforts. “I think that 2022 will be no less tense internationally,” he believes. “Therefore, we will strive to co-operate even more closely and to provide each other with support both at international platforms and in inter-parliamentary structures.”