Poland reaffirms support of EU sanctions against Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

Poland on Friday reaffirmed its support of sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) on Belarus in spite of Minsk releasing Warsaw`s former ambassador Mariusz Maszkiewicz from prison.

"Our position concerning Belarus can not be changed by this single case," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Dobrowolski.

He said that the EU foreign ministers would adopt a tough position toward Belarus when they meet on Monday.

Maszkiewicz, Poland`s former ambassador to Belarus, was released from hospital Friday and was not ordered to return to prison, where he had been serving a 15-day sentence for taking part in rallies against the March elections in Belarus.

Maszkiewicz, 46, was detained along with opposition activists protesting the election victory of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Relations between Belarus and EU member Poland soured after Lukashenko singled out Warsaw for particularly harsh criticism in his accusations that the West was trying to foment upheaval in his ex-Soviet state.

The veteran leader has accused Warsaw of inciting the 400,000-strong Polish minority in Belarus to stir up trouble. Poland openly backed the main opposition candidate to Lukashenko in the election, Alexander Milinkevich, and has imposed visa restrictions on senior Belarus officials in its aftermath.

The March 19 election in Belarus, which saw Lukashenko reelected for a third term with 83 percent of the vote, was branded by the EU and the United States as being rigged, but considered fair and legitimate by Russia.