Belarusian MFA assures sanctions were lifted from Makei without any conditions

The Belarusian MFA says no conditions were made over suspension of the EU visa restrictions on Uladzimir Makei.

“No conditions were set, of course,” Belarusian MFA spokesman Andrei Savinykh told journalists on Thursday, Interfax news agency reports.

“We regard the lifting of the sanctions as a natural and reasonable step, an important condition for mutually respectful dialogue,” Savinykh stressed.

“We suppose the current differences can be resolved only through dialogue,” the Belarusian MFA spokesman noted.

Answering a question about Makei's possible participation in the meeting of foreign ministers of the Eastern Partnership member states in Brussels in July, he said the issue was under consideration of the Belarusian side and a decision would be announced later.

The EU Council suspended a visa ban on Belarusian foreign minister Uladzimir Makei on June 24.

“In order to facilitate diplomatic contacts between the EU and Belarus, the Council today suspended the EU travel ban on Uladzimir Makei, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr Makei will remain on the list of persons subject to EU restrictive measures, but the visa ban will not be applied to him,” the press service of the EU Council reported.

The Council said the decision did not reflect any change in the EU's policy towards Belarus. “The EU maintains its policy of critical engagement with Belarus, including its policy of sanctions, with a view to furthering the respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles in Belarus,” the Council's press service reported.

The decision took effect after publishing in the EU Official Journal on June 25.

The EU imposed sanctions on Makei, then head of Lukashenka's administration, in January 2011. By suspending sanctions on Makei, the EU counted on the release of political prisoners.

The EU visa ban list contains more than 200 Belarusian officials, judges and law enforcement officers, including the dictator himself.