BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/12/2006

Belarus calls on EU to rethink economic sanctions

MINSK. Dec 6 (Interfax) - The Belarussian Foreign Ministry has called on the European Union not to rush to impose economic sanctions on Belarus - especially the possibility of excluding Belarus from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

"It is very important for the EU not to rush to make the decision to impose economic sanctions on Belarus and weigh all pros and cons," Belarussian Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Andrei Popov said Wednesday.

Popov described an EU Council working group December 5 recommendation that Belarus be excluded from the GSP as "a shortsighted step." "In fact, the matter implies the recommendation that the EU Council impose economic sanctions on the Belarussian people for political reasons," he said.

The imposition of sanctions would chiefly have a negative effect on the European Union's image in Belarus, he said.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/5/219809/news.aspx