US, EU condemn official Minsk

The United States and the European Union have condemned the way the official Minsk treats diplomatic missions in Belarus, according to the joint statement made Tuesday on the results of a bilateral summit in the Slovenian city of Brdo. The US Department of State stressed on numerous occasions that US and EU had a common stance towards Belarus. This position has been once again confirmed in a joint statement voiced at the US-EU summit in Slovenia.

The United States and the European Union have urged the authorities in Belarus to free all the political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. In the view of Washington and Brussels, it is the Belarusian leadership who is responsible for the country's poor human rights record.

"We will continue to support democracy, the rule of law and human rights in Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgistan. In the case of Belarus, we will continue to consider the Belarusian authorities responsible for human rights violations. We call on the Belarusian authorities to free all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. We condemn the use of brutal methods aganst diplomatic missions in Belarus", says the statement.

Photo: Council of Europe