BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

18/04/2009

Lukashenko invited to Prague's EU summit

Alexander Lukashenko's invitation to the "Eastern Partnership" summit in Prague on 7 May is hoped to bring a new chapter in the EU ties with Minsk, which Brussels criticizes over alleged violation of human rights.

Visiting Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg announced on Friday in the Belarusian capital that he had presented an invitation for Lukashenko to join the summit.

The EU had to suspend another nine months a travel ban it maintains on Lukashenko and other top officials as part of its stepped-up effort for closer energy and trade links with Belarus along with five other ex-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Czech media reports, though, quoted Lukashenko as saying earlier that he would not take part in the summit, even if he were invited.

The Czech Republic also seemed divided on the issue when President Vaclav Klaus expressed surprise at his foreign minister's move, saying he would snub his Belarusian counterpart if he attended.

"The president is surprised by the double standards used," said a statement from Klaus's office, adding "he lets it be known that he will not shake Mr Lukashenko's hand nor receive him in Prague Castle."

The remark came at odds with Schwarzenberg's praise of promoting EU-Belarus ties in Minsk and Russia's approval of the invitation.

"We are delighted that a realistic approach toward Belarus has prevailed in Brussels," presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said on Friday.

"We have been trying to persuade our partners in the EU for years that the policy of sanctions or isolation toward our friend Belarus has no prospects," he added

Source:

http://www.haber27.com/news_detail.php?id=27952

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