BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/01/2011

Presidential spokesman: Lithuania not to block EU sanctions for Belarus

Petras Vaida, BC, Vilnius,

Lithuania does not oppose the EU's proposal for re-imposing visa bans on Belarusian top officials. The visa ban should apply only to the target group of citizens of Belarus, the spokesman for President Dalia Grybauskaite said.

"Lithuania does not block any sanctions now when they are considered at the EU's institutions. Lithuania's position is that if the EU decides to impose sanctions, these sanctions should be applied to a target group of people - Belarusian officials, who are directly related to the acts of repression," presidential spokesman Linas Balsys told ELTA.

He noted that the head of state believed that the citizens of Belarus must not be isolated from Europe. Balsys recalled that President Grybauskaite earlier this week sent a letter to President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, urging them to look for ways to facilitate travelling and visa regime within the Schengen area for Belarusians irrespective of any sanctions that might be imposed by the EU on the Belarusian administration, writes LETA, referring to ELTA.

"Lithuania does not block anything if it concerns sanctions for the target group of people. If the decision is taken, it will be adopted unanimously and Lithuania will make no obstacles to that," the presidential spokesman said."

Source:

http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_states/?doc=36090




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