Armenia and Belarus rejected final EaP Summit statement over the phrase about Crimea’s annexation

The Belarusan Foreign Ministry informs that the work over the compromise version of the statement continues.

Armenia and Belarus have refused to sign up to a final statement at the May 21-22 Fourth Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga that would condemn Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula as illegal, Reuters reported with reference to an unnamed EU diplomat. 

When reached for comment on Thursday, Dzmitry Mironchyk, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, failed to either confirm or deny the report, BelaPAN informs.
"Work on the declaration's text continues," he said. "As for Belarus' stance, it is well known. We advocate a non-confrontational nature of the Eastern Partnership with a positive agenda, including for the EU neighbors' neighbors." 
According to Reuters, EU diplomats said a compromise text would be put to Armenia and Belarus. 
It would note the EU's condemnation of the annexation of Crimea but also refer to partner governments' positions in a UN vote in March 2014 in which Armenia and Belarus took Moscow's line, said the news agency.