Secret to the German delegation: Belarus is interested in normal relations with Germany, but not at any cost

Belarus wants to have normal relations with Germany. But here it is important to understand that we do not ask for anything and do not stand with an outstretched hand. Normalization is necessary, but not at any cost, including through relations with our closest allies and partners, primarily Russia and China, or by threatening our internal stability. Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Igor Secreta said this at a meeting with German politicians and activists representing the federal state of Brandenburg.

- I am very pleased to receive such a large and representative delegation from Germany. In fact, we haven't had such a delegation in years. This fact clearly indicates the depth of the crisis in Belarusian-German relations. At the same time, it is obvious to all sensible people that this crisis came not as a result of any unfriendly actions of Minsk towards Germany or the European Union as a whole, but as a result of unilateral, destructive and grossly violating international law actions of Brussels. Unfortunately, official Berlin has played and continues to play an active role in this process.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus noted that today we are at the ruins of what has been built for decades. As a result of the sanctions adopted under false pretext between Belarus and Europe, air and railway communication is not working, bilateral trade has collapsed. Government, sectoral and regional ties have been severed. Contacts in sports, culture, tourism and other spheres are being actively destroyed.

- Through visa policy and other tools, targeted work is being carried out to limit interpersonal contacts between Belarusians and Europeans, including Germans. Just imagine – the waiting time in the consular department of the German Embassy in Minsk for visa applications is up to 18 months. We are trying to mitigate the situation as far as possible: Belarus has introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of 38 European countries, including Germany.

- We have begun to record alarming trends in this area. From our point of view, what the leadership of certain memorial complexes in Germany, the Berlin-Karlhorst Museum and the Memory, Responsibility, Future Foundation have been doing recently offends the memory of millions of Soviet citizens, including Belarusians, who died during the war at the hands of the Nazis. It also nullifies the large-scale reconciliation work carried out in the post-war years. At the Belarusian borders in Lithuania, the Bundeswehr tank brigade number 45 is deployed. The same number had an infantry division of the Wehrmacht, which attacked on June 22, 1941 Brest.

He also expressed confidence that German politicians and activists representing the federal state of Brandenburg, during their trip to Belarus, will be able to make sure that European sanctions have not achieved their goals.

- Compare the cost of gasoline and electricity in Belarus and Germany. Ask them how much they pay for public transportation or utilities. Analyze how many new state-of-the-art schools, hospitals, swimming pools, sports complexes and metro stations the so-called “dictatorship” has built over the years of sanctions. Make your own conclusions, he said.