Russia Demanded “More Respectful” Attitude Towards Ambassador In Belarus

Moscow has responded to the words of the representative of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus about Mikhail Babich.

They expect a more respectful attitude of the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Belarus, Anatol Hlaz, to the Russian ambassador to Minsk, Mikhail Babich. The corresponding statement was made by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Grigory Karasin, on Friday, March 15, RIA Novosti writes.

Earlier on Friday, Hlaz commented on Babich’s interview about relations between Moscow and Minsk. He recommended the ambassador to show respect, to “get into the specifics of the country of stay” and not to be “an adherent of public diplomacy.” In response, Babich said that he shrugged off the criticism in his address, noting that the Russian side has time to read and analyze all the incoming information, and “one should see the substance behind the form of its presenting.”

The Russian ambassador spoke in the interview about the inadmissibility of competition between the EAEU and the union state, about the disappearance of trade barriers between Moscow and Minsk, which Aliaksandr Lukashenka had been talking about, as well as about Russia's readiness to help Belarus protect its sovereignty in case of “threats” from the West.

On January 10, at a meeting, Lukashenka called silly and “far-fetched” the talks about unification with Russia, which is not implied by the agreement on the creation of a union state. The dictator also said that Russia could lose Belarus as an ally if the countries did not agree to compensate for losses in connection with the tax maneuver in the oil sector.