Ryzhenkov: The West is using unilateral restrictive measures to influence countries they don't like

Western countries are using unilateral restrictive measures to influence countries they don't like and provoke social unrest. This was stated by Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov, speaking via video address at a conference in Geneva.

"Unfortunately, despite the obvious acute nature of the problem of the negative impact of sanctions on human rights, those initiating restrictive measures prefer to ignore it and continue to use the whip of sanctions as a tool of their foreign policy, claiming the legality and justification for such measures. From a human rights perspective, a fundamental question arises: is it permissible to use any measures that even indirectly lead to a deterioration in the living conditions of the civilian population? After all, the countries initiating peacekeeping operations openly state that they are intentionally introducing them to negatively impact the lives of citizens in the countries affected by these sanctions," emphasized Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov.

He also noted: "In this way, the West hopes to provoke social unrest. This, in turn, will allegedly lead to the replacement of legitimately elected governments, which, for some reason, for political reasons, do not suit some Western countries."

The minister recalled that today, approximately 40 countries with a population of 2.5 billion people are subject to illegal unilateral restrictive measures imposed by the West.