Lavrov: Mentality of many Western politicians is affected by consequences of the colonial system

Sergey Lavrov believes that some Western states are not ready to recognize the objective reality of the formation of a new system of relations in the world. “I view the attempts to ignore this reality and the attempts to prevent the formation of such relations that would fully respect these new achievements of many countries as short-sighted and dangerous. Our Western colleagues, who have been setting the tone in world affairs for almost half a millennium, controlled the economy through colonial conquests, and ensured the smooth functioning of their elites through the removal of natural resources from colonies. Over these 500 years, of course, a lot has happened, but even after the colonial system collapsed, the relationship between mentor and mentee, master and assistant still had a significant impact on the mentality of Western politicians,” he said.

The Russian minister is convinced that there is no need for intrusive mediation services to resolve the situation in Belarus today. “We believe that there is no need for any intrusive mediation services. We will be guided by international law, the obligations that exist between us and the Republic of Belarus. We want the Belarusians themselves to be given an opportunity to solve their problems without any interference from outside,” he said.

In this regard, Sergey Lavrov recalled the constitutional reform initiated by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. “According to our common assessment, this is the form in which a dialogue with civil society can be organized and which should make it possible to discuss all those issues which are of concern to a certain part of Belarusian citizens,” he added.