Makej unofficially excluded from EU’s sanction list?

Uladzimir Makej was invited to the meeting of the heads of MFAs of the Eastern Partnership coutnries.

Polish embassy in Minsk reports about that. The meeting, in which the Minsters of the Visegrad group countries will also participate, will take place on 17-18 May in Krakow. Belarusian MFA confirmed the invitation of the minister, who use not allowed to enter the EU due to sanctions, but reported that his deputy Alena Kupchyna will go to Krakow instead of Uladzimir Makej.

“Such a step tells that the European Union has already taken the decision on starting another round of dialogue with the Belarusian regime. Brussels is expecting specific actions from Minsk as a response, in particular, the release of political prisoners. I believe that at the unofficial, non-public level Uladzimir Makej has already been excluded from the EU’s non-entrance list. They do not rush into announcing this in order to avoid a scandal and perplexity. We are witnessing grey schemes and agreements, which are being executed at the level of interpersonal contacts. It is so far impossible to track them down. The decision taken in regards to Makej is one of the results of the agreements”, - a political scientist Pavel Vusau told in an interview to charter97.org.

The political scientist believes that the Belarusian regime counts on full abandonment of sanctions, introduced by the EU. By this he explains Makej’s refusal to visit Poland.

“We may only guess, why the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus refused to go to Krakow and sent there Alena Kupchyna instead. Probably, it is not an important and key invitation for Minsk, especially considering that Uladzimir Makej’s trip to New York was cancelled. Probably, the level of the meetings and the list of issues, which could be suggested there, caused irritation on the Belarusian part. Having refused to go to Krakow, official Minsk wants to show that what the Belarusian authorities demand is not some half-measures, but full unfreezing of diplomatic relations and the abandonment of sanctions. The regime is showing that it is not ready to make any concessions and expects that the EU takes its position fully. It also should be taken into account that the House of Representatives is not included in the Euronest, which is very sensitive for Minsk. Belarus is represented by political opposition. The authorities have been unsuccessful in attempting to change this situation since 2009. I think it is one of the reason for Uladzimir Makej’s refusal to go to Krakow”, - Pavel Vusau stated.

We would remind that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus is in the list of officials and oligarchs, against whom sanctions have been introduced because of repressions in our country. The entrance to the countries of  the European Union and the USA is forbidden for him. Some European officials previously stated that Makej may be allowed to enter the EU. This idea was criticized by Belarusian opposition as well as influential human rights organizations.