The UN Security Council should pay attention to foreign interference in Belarus' internal affairs rather than focus on discussing the response of the country's security forces to the ongoing political protests, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said during a Security Council meeting on Friday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2020) The UN Security Council should pay attention to foreign interference in Belarus' internal affairs rather than focus on discussing the response of the country's security forces to the ongoing political protests, Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy said during a Security Council meeting on Friday.
"We are participating in a very strange meeting today that has clearly nothing to do with the agenda of the Security Council. The situation in Belarus clearly represents no threat to international peace and security," Polyanskiy said. "In fact, there is only one topic that is worth discussing today since we all gathered here, and it is flagrant interference of foreign powers, first and foremost, western and southern neighbors of Belarus in the country's internal affairs with a clear aim of regime change."
The UN Security Council on Friday, at the request of Estonia, convened for an informal Arria formula meeting to discuss the situation in Belarus. Former presidential candidate Svetalna Tikhanovskaya also participated in the session and briefed the council.
Polyanskiy pointed out to the fact that when security services in France, Germany and the United States used force against demonstrators in recent protests, no one at the Security Council proposed to initiate a similar meeting with the participation of the organizers of the protests.
The diplomat also urged to halt interfering in Belarus' domestic affairs and refrain from the imposition of any political decisions or mediation, stating that attempts to internationalize could only worsen the situation and deepen diversities in the Eastern European country
"Only the Belarusians themselves should decide the fate of the country through peaceful and constructive political dialogue," Polyankisy added.
On August 9, the Belarus opposition organized protests after disputing the presidential election results in which incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected for a sixth term by winning 80 percent of the vote. The opposition insists that its candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, won the election.
According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, three people have died, and several hundred others have sustained injuries during the ongoing unrest.
Lukashenko has repeatedly accused Western nations of directly interfering in the country's internal affairs. Russia has also voiced concerns about foreign interference in Belarus' sovereign affairs.
