BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/02/2009

EU foreign policy chief visits Belarus

The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus: The European Union sent its highest-level delegation ever to Belarus Thursday for talks with Belarus' authoritarian president and opposition leaders.

The visit by the delegation, led by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, comes as President Alexander Lukashenko continues to reach out to the West, which has long ostracized him.

Before holding talks with Lukashenko, Solana met with leading opposition figure, Alexander Milinkevich, who warned that the EU shouldn't ease sanctions on Belarus until Lukashenko makes concrete steps toward democracy.

"There have been some improvements in Belarus, but they are absolutely inadequate for a radical improvement in relations" from the EU, Milinkevich said.

Long a stalwart ally of Moscow, Lukashenko, dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by the EU and the United States, has sought to improve ties with the West, releasing political prisoners and allowing opposition activists to run for parliament. None won any seats.

Both Brussels and Washington have slapped economic sanctions on Belarus and imposed a travel ban on Lukashenko and other top government officials.

At his meeting with Lukashenko, Solana said he has come to pass the "message that we would like to get closer to your country," but stressed that Belarus has to do more to mend ties with the EU.

"Important decisions have been taken by the Belarus authorities, but these decision have to be accompanied by responsibility in all domains," Solana said.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Solana voiced hope that his visit would mark the "beginning of deeper and close" EU-Belarus ties.

Lukashenko said he hoped that the EU would try to avoid "middlemen, both domestically and abroad" whom he said were complicating Belarus's ties with Europe. He didn't specify whom he was referring to.

He also signaled that Belarus would like to reduce its dependence on Russia, saying he wants to "change the EU's perception that Belarus' only way out today is to run to one side and to deceive the Europeans, the European Union."

Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for nearly 15 years, quashing the opposition and independent media and creating a Soviet-style centrally planned economy that is suffering in the global economic crisis.

Lukashenko's push to improve ties with the West also comes as Russia has squeezed Belarus, raising oil and natural gas prices and crimping Belarus' economy.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/19/europe/EU-Belarus-EU.php

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