Belarus Criticizes Paris for Treating Unrest as Internal While Claiming Role as Democratic Standard

Belarus does not interfere in the internal affairs of France. This was stated by Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Varankov, BelTA reports.

“Belarus does not interfere in the internal affairs of France and feels not the slightest need to do so. We assess the situation and, like any state, have the right to speak out on international platforms whose mandate includes these issues. Speaking frankly about what we like and what we do not,” the spokesman of the Belarusian foreign ministry stressed.

“The conceptual problem is different: the boundary between ‘one’s own’ and ‘someone else’s’ turns out to be mobile — it shifts depending on who is being discussed, at what moment and in which country, rather than on the obligations undertaken. Either universality presupposes equal openness to assessment, or non-interference is applied to everyone equally,” Ruslan Varankov said.

According to him, combining both approaches depending on the circumstances means casting doubt on the existence of uniform standards.

“Paris, which publicly claims the role of a standard in this sphere, is thereby probably setting an example and justifying for the future similar coercive actions by the authorities against unrest in any state. We will take this into account,” the official representative of the Belarusian MFA stated.