Martynau invited to Paris for meeting with EU foreign ministers

Minister of foreign affaires of Belarus Syarhei Martynau is invited for a meeting with the EU 3 in Paris scheduled for September 15 in the frames of a session of 27 EU foreign ministers.

RIA Novosti has learnt it from spokesperson of the Commissioner responsible for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

According to a source, the European Commissioner supported invitation of Martynau and his scheduled talks with Ms Ferrero-Waldner, Bernard Kouchner, foreign minister of France, the EU president, and Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Observers view this meeting as the first step towards lifting of EU 4-year political blockade of Belarus.

Loosening of the European Union to Belarus became possible only after last month release of three remaining “political prisoners” by the Belarusian authorities. Among them are Andrei Kim, a student and an activist of opposition youth organisation the Young Front, and Syarhei Parsyukevich, a businessman. The both were arrested on January 10, 2008, during an unauthorised demonstration against new governmental directions on small business. Kim was sentenced to 1.5 years of imprisonment on April 22 current year, Parsyukevich – to 2.5 years of imprisonment on April 23.

The EU impose a ban of entry Europe for 41 officials, among them Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and cancelled holding of bilateral minister meetings for non-observing of democratic freedoms, and excluded Belarus from the Generalised System of Preferences for violating of workers’ rights.