“Western swine”: Lukashenka called sanctions against Russia and Belarus illegal

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko considers illegal sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia and Belarus because of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. He stated this today in the Kremlin at a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, emphasizing that the sanctions are “disgusting”.

“I have said more than once that the Russian Federation, and we (Belarus – ed.), all the more so, are always under sanctions. Today they are larger, but we are already used to this western disgusting. This is all illegitimate, illegal, in violation of all international agreements and treaties,” Lukashenka is quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

At the same time, he is convinced that Western sanctions against the republic are a time of opportunity for the country.

For his part, Putin pointed out that the Russian economy is now being dealt a “massive blow”, but in areas where sanctions were previously imposed, everything is working, and it can be said that the time is coming for opportunities to strengthen technological sovereignty.

Recall that on February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), and on February 24 he made an emergency appeal to the Russians and announced a special military operation in Donbass. In his speech, he stated that “circumstances require decisive action from Russia” and stressed that “Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons.”

In response to Russia’s actions, Western countries (USA, Canada, European Union, Great Britain, Japan) announced new, tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation, including financial and economic ones.

In particular, Russian banks fell under the sanctions, including Sberbank, VTB, Novikombank, FC Otkritie and Sovcombank, and for a number of state-owned companies it was difficult to attract foreign capital.

Later, the EU countries and the United States agreed to disconnect Russian banks that fell under sanctions from the international system of interbank transactions and information exchange SWIFT. In addition, it was decided to freeze the assets of the Bank of Russia, which will create difficulties for its use of international reserves. EU countries also pledged to take steps to limit the sale of citizenship — the so-called “golden passports” that allow wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government to become citizens of EU states and gain access to their financial systems. In addition, the European Union, the United States, Canada and a number of other countries have closed the sky for Russian aircraft.

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