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EU ambassadors will return to Minsk this week, report says

The ambassadors of European Union countries will return to Minsk this week, Poland’s PAP news agency said on Tuesday with reference to diplomatic sources, BelaPAN said.

The EU foreign ministers, at their meeting in Luxembourg on April 23, discussed the situation in Belarus. They welcomed the recent release of former presidential candidate Andrey Sannikaw and his campaign aide Dzmitry Bandarenka but emphasized the need for the Belarusian authorities to free and exonerate all other political prisoners.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Polish Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that the release of the remaining political prisoners was key to the resumption of dialogue between the EU and Belarus. He promised that if Belarus’ coming parliamentary elections met international standards the 27-nation bloc would offer support to Minsk for carrying out reforms.

Mr. Sikorski referred to the EU’s decision to suspend its sanctions against Myanmar following democratic changes in the Southeast Asian country, noting that the bloc could respond in the same way to steps toward democratization by the Belarusian authorities.

Citing sources in a “big” EU member state, PAP reported that Polish Ambassador Leszek Szerepka and EU Ambassador Maira Mora would be the first diplomats of the bloc to come back to Minsk.

On April 23, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis expressed fears that the ambassadors’ return could be used by Alyaksandr Lukashenka for another piece of propaganda and suggested that the EU issue an official statement on the subject.

The foreign ministers introduced no new sanctions against Belarus and adopted no resolution on the situation in the country at the Luxembourg meeting. Mr. Sikorski described the absence of fresh sanctions as an incentive for the Belarusian authorities.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt welcomed the release of Messrs. Sannikaw and Bandarenka but stressed that all other political prisoners must also be freed.