EU lifts almost all sanctions against Belarus
The European Union has decided to lift the sanctions against Belarusian President Aliaknsadr Lukashenka and other Belarusian officials.
We are talking in total about 170 individuals and three companies. Among other things, Lukashenka and other officials are no longer banned to travel to the EU countries and their bank assets are no longer under arrest.
There remain sanctions against four individuals, which the EU believes to were involved in the disappearance of the opposition activists in Belarus.
These people are not officially named. But unofficially it was reported that it is likely to be Viktar Sheiman, Dzmitry Pauliuchenka, Yury Sivakou, Uladzimir Naumau.
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MEP from Latvia Andrei Momykin explained how to understand the abolition of the EU sanctions against Belarusian officials.
Momykin: "The actual absence of sanctions is a goodwill gesture and a political sign of the European Union urging Belarus to move together witht he EU towards intensification of our relations."
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The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision of the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers to abolish most of the sanctions.
"This decision is an important step towards full normalization of relations and opens up new opportunities for the expansion of multifaceted cooperation between Belarus and the EU, putting it to a qualitatively new level," said in a commentary Press Secretary Dzmitry Mironchyk.
The Belarusian side expressed its belief that such action is consistent with the interests of Belarus, the European Union and the European region as a whole.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Belarus is open to a further constructive dialogue with the European Union and its member countries on all matters of mutual interest.
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Polish MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski, commenting on the lifting of sanctions against the representatives of Belarus, said that Belarus was also looking for ways to improve relations. According to the head of the European Group for Relations with Belarus, this is due to the difficult economic situation in Belarus.
He said that the official Minsk was looking for help in different places - in Moscow, Beijing and Brussels. "But Brussels does not agree on to compromise on core values. The situation with the opposition, independent media, non-governmental organizations are to be amended. Otherwise, there would be no assistance from Brussels," warned the European politician.
Zdrojewski explained the conditions under which the European Union can reinstate the sanctions against representatives of Belarus.
European politicians explained that one negative action of the Belarusian authorities will not lead to the return of the sanctions but will negatively affect the process of rapprochement between Minsk and Brussels.
"I have recently noted that the release of political prisoners is a good solution, but it remains unclear: is Belarus without political prisoners a permanent state or temporary one?" said Zdrojewski. According to him, if on the part of Minsk there will be a few cases, which will discredit the new policy, the EU may return the sanctions.
He said the parliamentary elections in Belarus will be the most important indicator.
