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European Parliament seeking resumption of dialogue with Minsk, rapporteur says

The European Parliament is determined to use opportunities for restoring dialogue with the Belarusian government, Justas Paleckis, the EP`s rapporteur on Belarus, told BelaPAN.

Mr. Paleckis` report on the situation in Belarus was approved by the EP`s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

The report suggests that the European Union should try to resume its dialogue with Minsk if the latter releases all political prisoners.

Mr. Paleckis said that he had not expected to complete the report because of a big difference of opinion in the European Parliament. "I thought that colleagues would hardly support me, and if they do, only a slight majority would support using the chance to resume dialogue with Belarus in the event of the release of the political prisoners," he said.

Asked whether the report contained a proposal to suspend the EU`s travel sanctions against key Belarusian officials, Mr. Paleckis noted that the proposal had already been put into practice. He referred to the recent lifting of the entry ban on Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makey.

"Now under discussion is how to use the lifting of the sanctions against him for turning around dialogue with Belarus, above all for the purpose of securing the release of the political prisoners and, if this is achieved, moving forward," said Mr. Paleckis.

"If Minsk responds and the issue of the political prisoners is solved, one can start anew, although there are no guarantees of success. But one needs to go this way again and again," the Lithuanian MEP concluded.