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Carl Bildt: Release of political prisoners in Belarus remains main requirement of EU

Carl Bildt: Release of political prisoners in Belarus remains main requirement of EU
Carl Bildt

There are no changes and liberalisation in Belarus.

Foreign ministers of Germany, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic published the article in the New York Times titled “Lukashenko the Loser” after the 2010 elections. Carl Bildt was among the authors. He visited Belarus in late March with an official delegation. The visit didn't lead to a breakthrough despite expectations. Carl Bildt talked to Radio Svaboda on the sidelines of the Wroclaw Global Forum. He shared his vision of Belarus in new geopolitical realities.

– You visited Minsk some months ago and said in an interview that Minsk's position was unclear. Several months have passed. Have you understood what the Belarusian authorities are thinking?

– No, I haven't. It was a very short visit. The regime is not going to liberalise its domestic policy. I have no doubts about it. There are no signals. On the other hand, some changes in the foreign and security policies can be noticed. They can apparently be explained with Moscow's behaviour. These changes are discussed on the sidelines a little, but the dependence on Moscow remains very strong.

– European politicians sometimes say it is possible to improve Lukashenka, or they say he defends Belarus' independence though he is not a democrat. Being a consistent critic of the Lukashenka regime, what would you answer to such statements?

– Unfortunately, I do not see any signs that he may become a democrat. But I also don't think that he wants Belarus to be ruled by the Kremlin. It was time when Lukashenka probably dreamt of heading the Kremlin. I think he has understood it will never happen. He faces a real threat that the Kremlin will control Minsk, and he doesn't like it.

– You noted during your visit to Minsk that nothing had changed in the EU's policy and that conditions for a dialogue remain the same. If the regime releases Mikalai Statkevich, will it be the beginning of liberalisation, cooperation and resuming relations? Is the release of political prisoners enough to resume relations?

– This is the question for the European Union. To make it clear, the release of all political prisoners is a crucial demand. I cannot understand why he hasn't done it so far. We already have some results of the previous dialogue. I mean changes in the security policy and progress in the visa facilitation process. I would be happy if we could go further.

– You spoke about the dialogue on the authorities' level, but what hinders the EU from building contacts with civil society, grassroots initiatives and organisations? I mean not only political parties but also NGOs, media and informal initiatives.

– Of course, I understand it well. I met with both the authorities and other organisations during my visit to Minsk to sort out what is going on and what can be done further. It is important to develop interpersonal contacts and contacts on the civil society level.

– What role will Sweden play? I know you are not a foreign minister already, but will Sweden's policy towards Belarus change, in your opinion?

– I don't know the current situation exactly. We will most likely to be engaged in all possible processes, though Belarus, unfortunately, has many restrictions.

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