BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/04/2006

Russian MP criticizes EU sanctions against Belarus leaders

Banning Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and the country's other senior state officials from entering the European Union is not an effective political measure, a senior member of the Russian parliament said Monday.

The foreign ministers of the union's 25 member states decided Monday to impose sanctions against Belarusian leaders over the March 19 presidential election they condemned as flawed. Lukashenko, who Washington has dubbed 'Europe's last dictator,' was reelected to a third term with a massive 83% of the vote and now tops a blacklist of 31 Belarusian officials denied the right to enter the EU. The head of the State Security Committee, the justice minister, the prosecutor general, the speaker of parliament's lower house and the head of the presidential staff are also included on the list.

'This decision seems to be counterproductive,' said Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee and Russia's chief delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

He said a constructive dialogue with Belarus would be more effective because a delay in resolving the issue 'works against the country.' He added that sanctions against Cuba, North Korea and Iran had not achieved the desired results either.

Kosachev expressed the hope that PACE officials would continue their contacts and consultations with the Belarusian leaders and that PACE President Rene van der Linden would meet with members of the Belarusian parliament during festivities commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Russian State Duma scheduled for April in St. Petersburg.

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1154092.php/Russian_MP_criticizes_EU_sanctions_against_Belarus_leaders

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