Respect for the sovereignty of Belarus will remain at the heart of their activities, said George Kent, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia.
Washington is discussing with its partners in Europe possible imposition of targeted sanctions against Belarus. This was announced Wednesday by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia George Kent, speaking at a video conference organized by the German Marshall Foundation in Washington.
“As for potential sanctions, the U.S. will continue negotiations with our allies and partners in Europe to agree probably targeted sanctions against those who were involved in both violence and brutality against civilians and protesters, as well as apparent falsification on election day. At the same time, I think it is very important to understand that respect for the sovereignty of Belarus will remain at the core of what we seek to do”, – the diplomat said.
According to him, the situation in the republic should not be regarded as “geopolitical competition between the East and the West or the U.S. and Russia. “This was one of the messages from U.S. Deputy Secretary of State [Stephen] Bigen when he met with [Russian Foreign Minister Sergei] Lavrov and other Russian officials in Moscow last week. The situation in Belarus is a matter of Belarus and the Belarusian people,” Kent said.
According to him, “it is quite clear from sociological polls that the overwhelming majority of Belorussian citizens want to have very close and positive relations with Russia”. The diplomat believes that the USA “does not impose any decision or way” on the Belarusian people.
Earlier Reuters agency reported with reference to a Canadian source that Canada, Great Britain, EU and USA were discussing possible introduction of sanctions against Byelorussia. According to the agency’s interlocutor, if a positive decision on this issue is taken, the sanctions will be imposed “in the not too distant future.