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Tertel discusses degradation of international law, cities actions by London, Vilnius against Minsk

MINSK, 24 December (BelTA) - The degradation of international law began with the erosion of the so-called Budapest agreements, Belarusian KGB chief Ivan Tertel told the media following his report to the Belarusian president, BelTA has learned.

“The degradation of international law began, in our assessment, with the erosion of the so-called well-known Budapest agreements. Belarus was given guarantees by the United States, direct committmenets by London and Paris not to apply sanctions, including economic ones. This agreement effectively lasted a very short time, and sanctions were imposed against Belarus in violation [of the agreements], absolutely illegally,” Ivan Tertel said.

In support of his statement, the KGB head cited examples related to Lithuania's actions against Belarus: “This includes, in effect, the confiscation of our assets in the port of Klaipėda, the issues with our health resort in Druskininkai (that treats children affected by the Chernobyl disaster). The seizure of firefighting and other equipment purchased by other countries for the purpose of ensuring public safety.”

Ivan Tertel also pointed to the actions by the United Kingdom regarding Belarus. “These are the measures that the United Kingdom implemented with regard to Belarus’ gold and foreign exchange assets. I must emphasize, in 2020 London made a decision, anabsolutely illegal one, to effectively confiscate our gold and foreign exchange reserves, which are currently valued at $1.5 billion. An absolutely illegal decision, which now serves as a point for reflection by many Arab states and CIS countries: whether to invest in the UK economy or not? Unfortunately, such a practice continues, and we consider it nothing less than outright theft. This is an example to others of what not to do,” he stated.

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