President of Belarus Alexander LukashenkoMINSK, February 10 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed the Foreign Ministry to strengthen cooperation in international organizations to counter sanctions, said the new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the republic, Yuri Ambrazevich. Earlier on Thursday, Lukashenko made a number of appointments and reshuffles in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the republic. «Today, the head of state set the task of strengthening cooperation in international organizations and with the secretariat of international organizations to counter sanctions, use legal issues in order to seek appropriate decisions in our favor,» the Belarus Today agency quoted Ambrazevich as saying. Relations between Belarus and Western countries deteriorated sharply after the presidential elections in the republic, which were held on August 9, 2020. They were won by Alexander Lukashenko, who received, according to the CEC, 80.1% of the vote. Mass protest actions of the opposition took place in the country. The Belarusian authorities have repeatedly stated that the protests in the country are coordinated from abroad. Lukashenka accused the West of direct interference in the situation in the republic, noted that the United States is directing the riots, while the Europeans «play along» with them. The European Union, Great Britain, the United States, Canada and a number of other countries gradually imposed sanctions against Belarusian officials, as well as enterprises, accusing Minsk of election violations and violations of human rights. Belarus announced retaliatory measures.
Lukashenko warned that he did not «blurt out» about sanctions against the European Union
