Anatol Labiedzka: There are no grounds for Belarus’ return to Council of Europe

The issue of Belarus’ return to the Council of Europe is only topical for Russian lobbyists of the Belarusian dictator.

The chairman of the United Civic Party (UCP) Anatol Labiedzka stated that when commenting for charter97.org on the suggestion of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the restoration of Belarus’ guest status.

“This is topical for the Russian delegation which is lobbying for this issue in Strasbourg. I mean the supporters of Ziuganov and the incumbent Russian authorities. They, of course, do not see political prisoners in Belarus, because after the events in Bolotnaya Square there are over 20 political prisoners in Russia, they do not see the problems with independent judiciary and elections in our country, since in the majority of the regions of the Russian Federation there were mass falsifications. That is why this issue is topical for the people, initiating this”, - the politician emphasized.

At the same time he believes that there will be at least an acrimonious debate over this topic.

“I think that PACE and the Council of Europe will be guided by the position of the European Union. They are ready there to listen to what official Minsk is suggesting. But they are not yet ready to react on mere beautiful words. I think, while there are political prisoners in Belarus, there is not freedom for the activities of the democratic opposition and the death penalty has not still been abandoned, there can be no discussion of the restoration of the guest status for Belarus”, - Anatol Labiedzka summarized.

We would remind that the Russian delegation to PACE initiated the discussion of the issue of creating a parliamentary contact group for restoring the guest status in the Council of Europe for Belarus.