Belarus MFA remains vague on Crimea annexation

At a news briefing by Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesman Dzmitry Mironchyk on Wednesday, Euroradio asked him to claridy the position of Belarus with regard to the situation in Crimea. The Belarus MFA said in statement on March 19: "the Republic of Belarus is against one-sided, biased interpretation of the principles of international law to satisfy geopolitical interests, against attempts to declare some international situations and territories unique while ignoring others." Euroradio correspondent asked Dzmitry MIronchyk to elucidate if this wording meant that our country did not recognize Crimea as part of Russian Federation.

Mironchyk: "With regard to your questions, the position of the Republic of Belarus was fully outlined in the relevant statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You are welcome to familizrize yourself with it. It is up to you how to interprete it."

The referendum in Crimea took place on March 16. According to official data, the majority voted for Crimea joining Russia. On the next day, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed an edict to absorb Crimea as a subjet of the Russian Federation. The referendum results was not recognized as legitimate by the international community.