Hillary Clinton to discuss Belarusian issue in Vilnius

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to raise a question about democracy in Belarus during her visit to Vilnius from June 30 to July 1.

This was said by a Department of State senior official at a briefing in Budapest on June 29.

“She will meet with the prime minister, the president, and the foreign minister to talk about everything from energy and economy to democracy in the neighborhood and particularly neighboring Belarus,” BelaPAN cites the Department of State’s website.

“Belarus has been a longstanding problem. Things have recently gotten worse, and it is an issue of great concern for the countries of the region,” administration official said. “There have been a number of statements that have been issued by political leaders about the situation in Belarus, but those statements have also been backed up by actions.”

The official mentioned the steps taken in relation to official Minsk by the US Government as well as by many European governments individually and the EU together - travel restrictions and asset freezes.

“There have been – also been efforts to set up funds to take concrete action to promote democratic development inside Belarus to liberalize travel for those not associated with the regime,” he said.

Hillary Clinton will take part in the Community of Democracies 6th Ministerial.