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Belarus on agenda of Hillary Clinton`s meetings in Vilnius

The human rights situation in Belarus will be on the agenda of bilateral meetings that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to hold in Vilnius on June 30 and July 1, a senior official of the US State Department said at a news conference in Budapest on Wednesday.

“She will meet with the prime minister, the president, and the foreign minister to talk about everything from energy and economy to democracy in the neighborhood and particularly neighboring Belarus,” the official said
“Belarus has been a longstanding problem,” the official said. “Things have recently gotten worse, and it is an issue of great concern for... all of the friends of democracy across Europe and Eurasia. There have been a number of statements that have been issued by political leaders about the situation in Belarus, but those statements have also been backed up by actions."

The official cited entry bans and asset freezes imposed by both the European Union and the United States on a number of Belarusian officials.

“There have been…efforts to set up funds to take concrete action to promote democratic development inside Belarus to liberalize travel for those not associated with the regime so that we can work at the problem, if you will, from both directions,” the official said.

Another senior official of the State Department noted that Washington was watching “very closely” the Belarusian authorities’ handling of “silent” anti-government protests.

Ms. Hilary was to arrive in Vilnius on Thursday for a Community of Democracies meeting and bilateral talks.// BelaPAN