Belarus’ foreign minister ridicules EU, US officials for asking not to disclose names

September 27, BPN. The Belarusian foreign minister said he had about ten confidential meetings with the EU and the US officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Uładzimir Makiej ridiculed his interlocutors for asking him no to disclose their names.

“I understand, honestly speaking, the citadel of democracy, the European Union. They teach us human rights and democratic rules, but absolutely heavy-handed discipline and square bashing rule there,” state media quoted him as saying.

Makiej said he had joked at his meeting with US officials that “public information about the meeting with the foreign minister of Belarus can destroy even the superpower such as the USA.”

“Honestly speaking, I look at it with laughter and take it sensibly,” he went on to say.

“We managed to restore or resume contacts and channels of communication, which are currently very important for exchanging information and conveying our position,” he noted.

“A number of colleagues understand the absurdity of the current situation and the need to get out of it,” he added in apparent reference to Western sanctions against Belarus over human rights abuses and the country’s complicity in the Russian assault on Ukraine.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja was aware of these meetings, her aide Franak Viačorka wrote in his Telegram channel. Makiej’s interlocutors asked not to disclose their identities, citing reputational risks, he added.

Makiej’s message focused on the need to lift sanctions against the potash industry, according to Viačorka. The foreign minister dropped hints that the West should save Alaksandr Łukašenka from Russia, he added.

Makiej promised that Belarus will start releasing political prisoners, but warned the West against putting any pressure in that respect.

Viačorka suggested that Makiej’s meetings in New York indicate that Belarusian authorities are cornered and fear that Russia is headed for a defeat in Ukraine.