Opinions & Interviews

Opinion: No one will be able to subjugate Belarus

Irina Akulovich. An archive photo

MINSK, 23 December (BelTA) – Belarus is a country with its own position and no one will be able to subjugate it, Director General of the BelTA news agency Irina Akulovich said on the air of Alfa Radio, BelTA informs citing sb.by.

“Politicians in the post-Soviet space are influential and impactful, politicians in Europe are simply not independent. After all, everyone is well aware that Poland, Lithuania, and Ukraine are doing today what they are told to do by the United States. This dependence, the absence of their own position are obvious to everyone,” she said.

Speaking about the Western sanctions against Belarus, Irina Akulovich turned to history. “I think everyone knows that sanctions have a long history. A few hundred years before Christ, sanctions were imposed by Athens. Napoleon introduced sanctions against Great Britain ... This is a long-standing instrument of pressure,” she said. She added that sanctions backfire. “Will the United States understand it? I think not any time soon. But I believe that failed micronations like Lithuania might soon get a firsthand experience of what it feels like to be under sanctions. Let's take a look at China's statements. China said that soon American-style sanctions may be imposed on Lithuania. These sanctions imply a complete ban on the sale of Lithuanian goods or products made using Lithuanian component parts. Lithuania will not get anything from China, either. What does Lithuania's partner in the European Union, Germany, say? German industrialists say they will take their money out of Lithuania. Lithuania produces some products for them that may fall under the sanctions. So where to sell them?"

In Lithuania, as Irina Akulovich noted, people are lamenting its government’s unbalanced decisions. "But today, states like Lithuania are taking a great number of such decisions. Hence, they have faced the sanctions," she said. “I can't say that sanctions are a good thing. In any case, they hinder the development of a country. This is on the one hand. On the other hand, they provide an opportunity to pay attention to those industries that may have been underdeveloped and give them a boost. Look at how the dairy industry in Russia has grown since the sanctions were imposed! Sanctions have never achieved their ultimate goal. As the head of state says, we lived under sanctions in the past and we will continue to face them. It is true, we have to spend time and efforts dealing with them, which, of course, is not a good thing. Yet, we can handle it.”

The Belarusian response to the sanctions was also raised during the conversation. There is the opinion that Belarus’ response to the sanctions shows that Belarus is firmly on its feet and is evolving, growing, and that the country is not what it was 27 years ago. "We clearly see that Belarus is a country with its own position and they will not be able to make it toe their line," Irina Akulovich summed up.

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