Bucko: Negotiations we are unaware of may be in process
The former chancellor of the Polish Embassy to Minsk discourses on the contacts between the EU and the official Minsk.
“Political prisoners would oppose to being sold”, he says.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted the information of the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita about that fact that Minister Nickolay Mladenov had offered €2bn to the Belarusian state leader for the release of political prisoners. Could such an idea emerge during contacts between the EU and the Belarusian authorities? Euroradio has discussed it with Marek Bucko, ex-chancellor of the Polish Embassy to Minsk and deputy head of the Freedom and Democracy Foundation.
Euroradio: Is it true that the EU is ready to pay for the release of political prisoners?
Bucko: Taking into account the EU’s previous policy and the fact that no EU’s actions can make Alyaksandr Lukashenka release political prisoners now, I think that some representatives of the European Union could come to the conclusion that the only way out is to pay… they could neglect the ethic and moral aspects of the issue as well as the previous promises not to trade in political prisoners and not to trade with Lukashenka…
Euroradio: Why could they allow the information leak about the meeting and the agreement?
Bucko: It could happen accidentally. It is difficult to say who could have found it advantageous to make the information public. I think that some trade may be in process now because we do not know anything else. We do not know in what state the negotiations between the EU and Lukashenka are now. There is no information and I do not believe that there are no negotiations. There is something we are unaware of. I think that various offers may be made to Lukashenka.
Of course, it is bad from the moral point of view. It would be great to release political prisoners in any case because it is important to their families and themselves, especially to those who have health problems like Mr. Bandarenka or Mr. Klaskouski who has a wife and three children. I think that numerous political prisoners would oppose to being sold now.
Euroradio: But why did the Bulgarian Foreign Minister take part in such negotiations?
Bucko: Judging by the public opinion in the EU member states, an official invitation of Lukashenka to any EU member state would affect the image of the politician who did it in a very negative way… That is why EU representatives are not going to shake hands with Lukashenka. I think that somebody decided to send Bulgaria, a secondary EU member state, to conduct negotiations with Lukashenka. If the decision was really made.
Euroradio: How do you think, what actions would be the most effective as regards Belarus? What policy should be conducted by the EU to avoid “falling into the same trap”?
Bucko: I have seen many times that the only things that can exercise influence on Lukashenka are force and sever economic sanctions as well as visa sanctions. However, their extent should be much larger than it is now. It should be a dozen times larger… But European officials are afraid of such actions, they are very delicate and are trying to talk in the corridors. They are trying to trade; however, we have been watching the results for many years.
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