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Linas Linkevicius: Lukashenka said himself he was latest dictator of Europe

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Linas Linkevicius: Lukashenka said himself he was latest dictator of Europe

The policy of the European Union towards the Belarusian regime hasn't changed.

Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said it to charter97.org, commenting on lifting sanctions from certain Belarusian officials.

– Last month, on July 13 and 31, the EU lifted sanctions from 26 Belarusian citizens and four companies. It puzzles the opposition. Human rights defender Ales Bialiatski said he didn't see grounds to review the blacklist, noting that sanctions against particular officials should be kept until the issues of human rights violations in Belarus, for which they were put on the blacklist, are not solved. What caused such a decision by the EU?

– It was a technical step that bears no relation to changes in the EU policy towards Belarus. The EU thinks it is not necessary for certain Belarusians to be on the blacklist, because they have changed their job and don't hold government posts any more. Life itself edited the list.

The number of Belarusians removed from the list looks big, but we think sanctions are imposed with a certain aim and lists must be balanced. If we compare the Belarusian blacklist with the Russian one, even if we count excluded individuals, the number of sanctioned persons is higher. I think it's not reasonable if we compare the current events, consider trends, etc.

To sum up, I can say that firstly, it is a technical step, secondly, it bears no relation to the EU policy and, thirdly, the persons removed from the blacklist do not hold any posts.

– But does Belarus still have a dictatorial regime?

– I'd like to quote Lukashenka, who once said he was the latest dictator of Europe. He says it himself. It is perhaps more important than all statements by the EU.

– Do you personally think so?

– If Lukashenka says so, who am I to argue with him?

– Your meeting with Belarusian foreign minister Uladzimir Makei in Odessa aroused much interest. May I ask what you talked about?

– I can say that I was happy to meet in that format and in that place. Odessa is a beautiful city. My Ukrainian colleague was there. It is important that our countries have a dialogue. It is important that, despite everything, Belarus has its own view of the situation that doesn't repeat Moscow's statements. It concerns both Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the Georgian issue – the occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

It is important that Belarus has its view that allows us to discuss problems. We don't speak only about Russia. We also discuss regional problems. Belarus is our neighbour, and it has Ukraine as its neighbour. We have a common information field. We discuss our issues. Yes, our views differ not only in what concerns political and geopolitical issues. Informal meetings allow us to communicate and discuss our differences.

Such meetings allow us to convey our ideas and messages and hear what the opposite party wants. It is important, all the more so we have certain obstacles in relations.

– Which exactly?

– Political prisoners.

– Did you talk about it in Odessa?

– Not only in Odessa. We always speak about it. We raised the question of political prisoners every time we met. It's not a secret. But these differences are not the reason not to talk and develop some projects, especially the Eastern Partnership project.

By the way, it was in Vilnius that the Belarusian side for the first time spoke positively about the modernisation programme carried out on behalf of the European Union. It was in Vilnius that the question on visa liberalisation between the EU and Belarus was raised. It was done for the first time.

Of course, life itself is against it now. But we are in the process of preparing the document on, for example, readmission, which is supposed to ease Schengen visa procedures for Belarusian citizens.

Visas are expensive for ordinary people, and Lithuania's duty as a neighbour to help Belarus in facilitating visa procedures. Our differences were impeding the process. The issue of political prisoners especially influenced our relations.

– Have these obstacles disappeared?

– We don't have obstacles due to political prisoners. This is a very positive step. Of course, we may say that the Belarusian authorities released the political prisoners due to the “elections”, which are scheduled for October 11. But anyway, this is the positive step. It is expected to have an impact on future relations between the EU and Belarus. I won't go into details. We will talk about it with our colleagues and have discussions depending on the situation. It's possible that we will come to a conclusion to soften our policy towards Belarus, especially if we draw parallels with Russia.

– How can it be explained to Belarusian opposition members, many of whom met repression, prison terms or had to leave the country?

– I understand them. We will talk to Belarusian democrats. I personally will meet and talk if necessary. We'd like to explain to people that it was a positive step. We were demanding the release of political prisoners for a long time, and it has finally happened. It would be stupid to say it means nothing. We should show it in practice to have motivation to move further.

Our aim is simple – more freedoms, more democracy and more conditions for a normal dialogue, more than the EU and Belarus have now. It is for the benefit of all people of Belarus.

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