MINSK, October 2. /TASS/. Belarus imposes symmetrical sanctions against UK and Canadian officials, Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz announced Friday.
"As we announced previously, we introduce symmetrical restrictions against a number officials of the UK and Canada," Glaz said.
He pointed out that Minsk noted the dualistic approach of these countries to the ongoing situation.
"We noted that these countries adopted a sanctions list; we believe these messages to be absolutely false and counter-productive. In particular, the UK and Canada introduced similar measures in 2006; they achieved no result and were subsequently cancelled. Meanwhile, both sides lost time, not to mention obvious double standards between evaluation of their own situation and that of their foreign partners," Glaz said.
On September 29, governments of the UK and Canada imposed sanctions against Belarusian president Alexander Lukahsenko and other officials, including Minister of the Interior Yuri Karaev and Central Electoral Commission head Lidiya Yermoshina, as well as Lukashenko’s son, Viktor.