MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. Western countries are taking measures to cut the remaining ties of economic cooperation between Russia and Belarus, Alexey Polishchuk, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, told TASS in an interview.
"As you know, the West has separated itself from Russia and Belarus voluntarily - and much to the detriment of its own economic interests - and it is working relentlessly to sever the remaining connections. An unprecedented unlawful sanctions pressure is being exerted on us," the senior Russian diplomat stated. "Aggressive military construction that poses security threats to the Union State is taking place on our western borders. And legal aggression and attempts to interfere in domestic affairs in Russia and Belarus are ongoing," he continued.
Polishchuk recalled how "a group of Western officials" criticized the recent presidential election in Belarus as "fictitious" and "invalid." "Similar assessments from countries that did not even take part in monitoring the election suggest that the West is not going to discard its arrogant `double standard’ policies or attempts to meddle in internal affairs of sovereign nations," he added.