EU dropped sanctions against Uladzimir Makei

Uladzimir Makei, Belarusan Foreign Minister was excluded from the list of people who are forbidden to enter the territory of the EU.

The decision was made on June, 24 at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union in Luxemburg.

Nevertheless, Uladzimir Makei was not removed from a list of citizens of Belarus subject to asset freezes within the EU, BelaPAN reports.

“In order to facilitate diplomatic contacts between the EU and Belarus, the Council today suspended the EU travel ban on Uladzimir Makei, Belarusan Minister of Foreign Affairs,” the Foreign Affairs Council says in a statement. “Mr Makei will remain on the list of persons subject to EU restrictive measures, but the visa ban will not be applied to him.”

The Council stresses that its “decision does not reflect any change in the EU`s policy towards Belarus.” “The EU maintains its policy of critical engagement with Belarus, including its policy of sanctions, with a view to furthering the respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles in Belarus,” the statement says.

The Council will revert to this issue at the next annual review of the EU restrictive measures against Belarus this October and decide whether to extend the suspension, the statement says.

The Council’s decision will take after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal on June 25.

While speaking at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in late April, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics suggested that the EU should resume political dialogue with Belarus, and that Uladzimir Makei should be invited to take part in the meeting of the foreign ministers of Eastern Partnership participating countries, which will take place in Brussels on July 22.

The European Union imposed the travel ban on Uladzimir Makei in January 2011 for his role in "the violations of international electoral standards" in the December 2010 presidential election and a post-election crackdown on government opponents. Mr. Makei was blacklisted while he was serving as head of the Presidential Administration. In August 2012, Mr. Makei was appointed to the position of foreign minister instead of Siarhei Martynau, who was not on the EU’s blacklist.

Let us recall that as many as 241 Belarusan citizens, including Aliaksandr Lukashenka, are currently subject to travel bans and 242 persons plus 30 business entities are subject to asset freezes within the EU.