What does sanctions adventurism mean for the West?

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei states that the fashion for sanctions on the part of Western partners is not just driving a wedge of discord between sovereign Belarus and Western democracies, but is creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis both on the continent and in the world at large.

Sanctions have been the main word in the political discourse in the West when discussing Belarus for almost two years now. The Republic of Belarus first encountered restrictive measures of the Western countries back in 1997. After the referendum in our country in 1996, the European Union froze the ratification of the agreement on partnership and cooperation with Belarus, restricted political contacts, refused to support Belarus' application for membership in the Council of Europe and significantly reduced the volume of technical assistance. "Just think, even then the EU tried in a very direct way to put pressure on our country so that our development would go in the way that was beneficial to them, not the Belarusians," noted the head of the Foreign Ministry.

Vladimir Makei, Belarusian Foreign Minister:

“One of my predecessors in this position said back in 2006 that there was good reason to believe that democracy promotion was turning from a temporary or incidental factor into a permanent component of US foreign policy and that "democracies" themselves were being driven by them. We can now state this as a systemic fact. Today, it is no longer a secret that Western policies to promote human rights and democratization have been based primarily on pragmatic goals of securing economic interests - gaining access to the resources and markets of the countries concerned, often without taking into account the interests of these countries themselves.”

The point of view of the Republic of Belarus has remained unchanged for many years. The legitimate interests should be defended by legitimate means, observing the principles of international law and the UN Charter, and not by the opposite means: by pressure, coercion, information attacks, organization of "color revolutions" and illegal change of governments.

Revolutions, even if they are "democratic", bring much more harm than good and do not stand comparison with a gradual evolution of the society, which forms a deep understanding in it, creates, if you like, "a cultural archetype" that a man, a citizen, along with the rights has also duties and with each his action must bear responsibility for his people and country, for his state.