Carl Bildt: EU only agrees with no political prisoners in Belarus – discussion is irrelevant

It is essential to have no political prisoners at all.

The discussion about the number of political prisoners in Belarus is irrelevant and inadmissible, Swedish ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt told BelaPAN and tut.by, who is paying a one-day visit to Minsk as a member of the delegation of experts of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"Any number of political prisoners except for zero is inadmissible, - emphasized Carl Bildt. – It does not matter how many political prisoners there are now. It is essential to have no political prisoners at all”.

The EU is not ready to ignore the problems with democracy and human rights in Belarus to get a chance to lessen Russia’s influence on the state, Bildt said. However, writes Euroradio, he noted the fact that Belarus had not succumbed to Russia’s pressure during Russia-Georgia conflict. The same pressure is being exercised in connection with the Ukrainian events now.

Belarus is an outsider in the Eastern Partnership programme, the diplomat noted, adding that more attention will be paid to the EU relations with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine at the summit in Riga.