DATE:
19/01/2011
By: The Associated Press
STOCKHOLM - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says the European Union is close to imposing travel restrictions on a list of Belarussian officials following what many observers have called fraudulent presidential elections.
Bildt says the restrictions will cover more officials than the previous EU sanctions against Belarus in 2006-2008. He says member countries are expected to agree on the sanctions shortly and "We are working on the list as we speak."
Bildt was speaking to reporters Wednesday after a meeting with representatives of the Belarus opposition.
The country's Dec. 19 vote was widely regarded as fraudulent and criticized by international observers. Mass protests were violently dispersed by police, who arrested seven of nine opposition candidates.
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