Belarusian MFA: EP at risk of opening Pandora's box

Official Minsk criticised the EP resolution on Belarus and called it “one-sided” and “biased”.

“The resolution on Belarus adopted by the European Parliament yesterday is one-sided, biased and improvident,” Interfax quotes the Belarusian MFA press service.

“If the European Parliament wanted to make a constructive contribution to seeking ways to solve the current discord between the neighbours, the means they chose are evidently ineffective and ill-timed,” the MFA said.

The Ministry also noted: “First, the resolution has nothing to do with the real situation of national minorities in Belarus. This can be proved by Belarusian citizens, including those of Polish origin. It is obvious for any unbiased foreign observer, too.”

“Second, the resolution was adopted at the moment when Belarus and Poland resumed their dialogue in some sensitive areas of the bilateral relations. What is it: a disservice or an attempt to wreck the dialogue by those who seem not to be interested in it?” the Belarusian MFA said.

“Belarus, in turn, also has a lot of concerns, in particular the ban to travel to Poland and the Schengen zone imposed on a number of Belarusian citizens of Polish origin and actions of Poland concerning issuing the Polish Cards, but we try to discus these issues directly with Poland without interference of international institutions,” the MFA noted.

“Third, using such methods on the thin ice of interethnic relations, the European Parliament is at risk of opening Pandora's box with unpredictable consequences both inside and outside the European Union,” the Ministry noted darkly.

“We would appreciate if such a reputable organization as the European Parliament takes a more responsible stance, in particular when it comes to national minorities, and ignore the intrigues of some political mischief-makers,” the Belarusian officials said.

As charter97.org has already reported, the resolution condemning the state of the civil society and national minorities in Belarus was passed by the European Parliament by majority vote on March 10. The document notes that further human rights violations can lead to revising a EU’s position on Belarus and returning to sanctions.