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Belarus against politicization of sanctions mechanisms, says foreign minister

According to Vladimir Makei, Western states and their partners "take steady steps to grant uncharacteristic judicial or other functions to international organizations"

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Belarus stands against politicization of sanctions and unilateral sanctions measures implemented without the UN’s approval, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Monday at the start of the joint panel of Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries.

According to him, Western states and their partners "take steady steps to grant uncharacteristic judicial or other functions to international organizations."

"Belarus hold a principled stance on this issue: only the UN Security Council has the right to introduce sanctions," Makei said. "We are against any attempts made by any states to replace this body and introduce unilateral economic, trade, financial and other measures with the aim to reach their own goals."

"The sanctions issue requires joint steps of Moscow and Minsk within the UN," the Belarusian top diplomat stressed. "It is necessary to counter the politicization of existing sanctions mechanism and the legalization of the harmful practice of introducing unilateral sanctions in violation of the UN Charter.".

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