Sheiman: US attempts to build pressure on Belarus began back in 1995
The building of the US pressure on Belarus began back in 1995 – as noted by Viktor Sheiman, the President’s Special Envoy, the first State Secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, in his talk with the Belarus 1 TV channel
“In April 1995, I flew to the United States of America as State Secretary of the Security Council to meet with the Secretary of Defence and the FBI Director. At that time, they were not interested either in freedom of speech or democracy. They were interested in our relations with Russia and how they would develop, as well as our attitude towards nuclear weapons. They were also keen to know about our future policy, collective agreements with Russia and other states. It was evident, they were obviously concerned about all these issues,” Viktor Sheiman said, recalling one of his first trips to the US.
Speaking about the sanctions, Viktor Sheiman recalled that since 2001 — the presidential election was held in Belarus that year — the United States began to actively finance the opposition, provide appropriate assistance, set up relevant NGOs in Belarus, train opposition activists in Warsaw, Brussels, and Vilnius. According to him, it was clear how their attitude was slowly changing.
“They were extremely dissatisfied, primarily, with our attitude towards Russia. Back then, at a meeting with the Defence Minister in 1995, he asked me whether we would demand the withdrawal of Russian bases from the territory of Belarus. These are the bases in Gantsevichi and Vileika. I responded that we are responsible and defend our territory ourselves, ensuring our own security. The question cannot be settled in this way: whether we will or we will not. We must assess all threats and all consequences, and only after considering all the relevant issues and deep study can we give an answer. Moreover, these stations ensure the safety, including of the Republic of Belarus, and inform us in relevant areas. They protect not only Russia, but also Belarus. They didn’t like this answer. It was already 1995,” Viktor Sheiman drew attention.
Even then, some attempts to build pressure against the Republic of Belarus began.
“Subsequently, these were the appropriate sanctions and other unpleasant things that they tried to implement in the economy in order to undermine our economic interests,” he added.
