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Belarusian foreign minister's status not expected to be discussed during EU summit

The situation in Belarus and the status of its foreign minister, Uladzimir Makey, who is on the European Union's blacklist, will not be discussed during the ongoing meeting of the European Council in Brussels, Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told BelaPAN on Thursday.

"The European Council will focus on the next long-term budget for the EU and the questions of Arab Spring," Ms. Kocijancic said. "Belarus is not on the agenda."

"Our restrictive measures are under constant review and are discussed periodically on a regular basis," Ms. Kocijancic said. "But at the moment there is not change regarding the listing of Mr. Makey."

Justas Paleckis, a Lithuanian member of the European Parliament, told the Belarus service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Wednesday that the possibility of issuing a Schengen visa to Mr. Makey might be discussed during the February 6-7 EU summit. A number of EU officials insist that Mr. Makey should be allowed to enter the EU for talks about the democratization of Belarus.

The European Union imposed a travel ban and an asset freeze on Uladzimir Makey in January 2011 for his role in "the violations of international electoral standards" in the December 2010 presidential election and a post-election crackdown on government opponents. Mr. Makey was blacklisted while he was serving as head of the Presidential Administration. In August 2012, Mr. Makey was appointed to the position of foreign minister instead of Syarhey Martynaw, who was not on the EU's blacklist.