Benita Ferrero-Waldner: Lukashenka asked me to come as soon as possible

Despite of that, the EU is set to insist on fulfilling conditions of democratization by Belarus. It has been stated by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, on Monday to journalists after the first day of the ministerial meeting of the EU.

“The Belarusian president said to me himself, that he wants me to arrive as soon as possible,” the European Commissioner stated.

“I am certainly to repeat the position of the EU and underline that we would like them to start a dialogue with the EU as soon as possible,” she said.

“They have to do a lot of things, that is what I will tell them. However, they have a chance to cooperate with us, if they would do what they ought to do,” the European Commissioner said, not giving the details of the topic. Western journalists have interpreted this phrase unambiguously as repetition of requirements of the European Union to respect human rights, freedom of expression and the press and other steps for democratization of Belarus.

As ITAR-TASS reminds, the visit of the European Commissioner was planned in March, however it was postponed on the initiative of the European side after the visit of Lukashenka to Armenia. This visit is to become the first visit of a European official of such a level to Minsk after the European sanctions against Belarus were suspended last autumn. The sanctions were imposed after the presidential election in 2006 as a “response of the EU to crackdown on opposition”. They included the ban for entry to all countries of the EU for 40 Belarusian officials including the Belarusian president.

The possibility of suspending sanctions against Belarus was first made in the beginning of September at the informal meeting of the heads of Foreign Ministries of 27 countries of the EU in Avignon, which main topic was discussion of the aftermaths of the war in Georgia and principles of building relations with Russia after recognition of breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia.

In a month sanctions against Belarus were suspended. This March the EU Council extended the decision to suspend sanctions for 9 months. In May the EU launched a program on regional cooperation with post-Soviet countries “Eastern Partnership”. Belarus was invited to join the program together with Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

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