MINSK, March 27. /TASS/. No sanctions will make Belarus forsake its national interests, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, commenting on the US sanctions imposed on a number of Belarusian individuals and companies.
"The Republic of Belarus has been, is and will remain a sovereign state with an independent foreign policy. No sanctions, restrictions and threats will knock us off our chosen course and force us to act counter to our national interests," the press service wrote.
The Foreign Ministry notes that the decision of the US authorities "did not come as a surprise to Belarus," since "it's hard to expect anything different from a country that, reflexively, positions itself as the ultimate arbiter of the world’s destiny and continues to believe in its own exceptionalism, infallibility and impunity."
"Sanctioning successful civilian enterprises in Belarus is the quintessence of hypocrisy by the US administration, whose representatives take every opportunity to claim that they ‘support’ the Belarusian people," the Foreign Ministry stressed.
It expressed confidence that the "MAZ and BelAZ teams, which already have experience working under the pressure of sanctions, will successfully cope with any new challenges."
The US Treasury Department announced on March 24 that Washington had decided to impose sanctions on Belarusian vehicle manufacturers BelAZ and MAZ. Also, seven members of the country’s Central Election Commission, including Chairman Igor Karpenko, were targeted by sanctions. In addition, the airliner purportedly used by President Alexander Lukashenko has been added to the US blacklist. In total, restrictive measures have been imposed on three organizations and nine individuals. As well, the US government slapped a visa ban on another 14 Belarusian citizens, who were not identified.