Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Belarus does not need to adopt additional laws on the recognition of Crimea no additional laws are required to recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, TASS reports.
The journalists asked the Foreign Minister what should be done to make Minsk formalize the recognition of Crimea.
“You don't need to do anything for this … No laws need to be passed. Belarus has not just diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, but allied relations. But even for countries that do not have such a format of relations with the Russian Federation, no special legislative acts are required to be adopted, “Lavrov said.
According to him, if a country interacts with Russia, then“ it should automatically recognize that Russia has its own territory “, which is subject to the powers of the Russian authorities.
” If it was not completely clear to someone there, then President [Belarus Alexander] Lukashenko clearly said that Crimea is part of Russia de facto and de jure. De facto it has always been, and de jure it became after the referendum in 2014, “Lavrov said.
Earlier, Lukashenka recognized Crimea as Russian. “We all understood that Crimea is de facto the Russian Crimea. After the referendum and de jure, Crimea became Russian, “he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that if Minsk really recognizes the peninsula as part of the Russian Federation, it will deal an irreparable blow to Ukrainian-Belarusian relations.