Fule refutes Lukashenka’s remarks

The European Commissioner discussed the human rights situation in Belarus.

Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, discussed the human rights situation in Belarus with civil society representatives and opposition leaders as well as with official representatives including Lukashenka during his visit to Minsk on July 8-9. He told this in an interview to BelaPAN news agency.

Fule noted that he had used his first official visit to Belarus to remind that respect fro fundamental rights and liberties is the main principle of the EU policy towards neighbours and a key factor in closer bilateral relations.

According to Fule, Belarus can in full use the opportunities offered by the EU in the European Neighbourhood Policy in general and the Eastern Partnership Policy in particular only by respecting the fundamental universal values.

As reported earlier, the Commissioner said at a meeting with civil society representatives he would discuss the human rights situation in Belarus with officials.

On July 17, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said commenting on his conversation with Stefan Fule: “Thanks God, we didn’t touch upon the questions of policy and democratization.” According to the president, they discussed the visa regime (“What is the guilt of our citizens?”), the Eastern Partnership programme, and free trade (“We do not block your goods. So why do you block ours?”)