Russia and Belarus to Rely on International Law to Counter Western Sanctions

Russia and Belarus will rely on international law to protect justice and fight different forms of illegal Western sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in the Belarusian city of Brest.

Lavrov and Belarusian Minister for Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov met on the two countries' Foreign Ministries, where they formulated a joint action plan on unilateral coercive policies and sanctions against Belarus and Russia and expressed a common position on the domestic and international political processes.

Lavrov said that the West has seriously violated international law, has breached all rules of the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and has violated the very concept of globalisation, Xinhua news agency reported.

The West advocates principles such as fair competition, presumption of innocence and inviolability of property, but it adopts double standards when dealing with Russia, Belarus, and many other countries, the official said.

Ryzhenkov told journalists that multilateral organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS represent the core of establishing a fair and sustainable multipolar world order, and Belarus is willing to actively work on these platforms.