Belarusian Foreign Ministry satisfied by resolution of European parliament
- 10.10.2008, 11:30
The Foreign Ministry of Belarus positively evaluates a number of aspects found in the resolution of the European parliament and call upon the European Union to lift all restrictive measures in relations with the Belarusian regime.
“It is a movement in the right direction, we expect lifting all restrictions on cooperation with the European Union,” stated the deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Valery Varanetski, answering the question of the agency Interfax-Zapad.
“It concerns the system of preferences, visa issues which are holding back our cooperation,” V. Varanetski noted.
The deputy Foreign Minister said that visa issues are “to be discussed at the level of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus and the EU partners” on October 13 at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU countries in Luxemburg.
“We are ready to take part in the negotiation process even today, we addressed the European Union on this question many times, but the EU is still thinking it over and reflecting on that,” V. Varanetski noted. As said by him, “As for liberalization of visa relations, we are ready to go as far forward as the EU is ready for”.
As we have informed, the European parliament adopted a resolution on situation in Belarus. It is offered to suspend visa sanctions against some of Belarusian officials for half a year, though the last “parliamentary election” was recognized not free and undemocratic.
The resolution expresses regret over the fact that the electoral campaign in Belarus, despite of great hopes and some improvements, was not democratic. The elected “parliament” has a “doubtful legitimacy”, European deputies believe.
Authors of the resolution call upon the European structures to continue the dialogue with Minsk, working up a “road map” for “step-by-step interaction, and to review restrictive measures. In particular, it is offered to suspend for 6 months sanctions against officials not responsible for violations of the democratic standards of the elections, in order to allow the regime to reverse the new law on media which hasn’t come in force yet.