BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/02/2009

EU foreign chief, Belarus president in first meeting

(MINSK) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Thursday held his first meeting with hardline Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko amid signs of a thaw in relations between Minsk and Europe.

Lukashenko, whose regime was dubbed "Europe's last dictatorship" by the United States, has been criticised for cracking down on opponents but over the last months has made cautious overtures to the West.

"The meeting has been long, over two hours, and very constructive, I think," Solana told reporters after the meeting.

He added that the pair "discussed all the issues, difficult and easy."

"The main aim of this meeting is to say in person what we are prepared to do to have close, trusting relations between our country and the European Union," Lukashenko told Solana.

"I favour frank and honest politics. Even if it is bitter we will say the truth about what we can do and cannot," he added, according to a statement from the presidency.

Lukashenko, a moustachioed former collective farm manager, said there should be no "intermediaries" either from outside or inside Belarus who could harm the development of relations between the two sides.

"There should be no trading in the development of relations," he added.

Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet republic of 10 million people in an authoritarian fashion since 1994 but has now made attempts at greater openness including the hiring of a Western PR firm and cautious economic reform.

Last October, EU foreign ministers suspended a travel ban on Lukashenko and several associates in a move designed to encourage democracy in the wake of disputed elections.

Belarus last year also released leading Lukashenko opponents including former presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin and former member of parliament Andrei Klimov.

Solana had earlier met with opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, who was awarded the European Union's top human rights award, the Sakharov prize, after losing the 2006 presidential election to Lukashenko.

"Relaunching dialogue is a historic chance for Belarus and an important step for Europe," Milinkevich, who has frequently complained of harrassment by the authorities, said after meeting Solana.

"But how far are the Belarus authorities ready to move forward in the process of liberalisation? They are ready to make progress in the economy but not in politics?" asked the leader of the Za Svobodu (For Freedom) group.

Solana had said in Brussels before leaving that he would tell Belarus "that we would like to get closer to your country."

"Important decisions have been taken (by the Belarus authorities) but these decisions have to be accompanied by responsibility in all domains," he added.

The shifts in Lukashenko's policies have been greeted with less than rapturous enthusiasm by its traditional ally Moscow, which was surprised earlier this month when Belarus criticised a regional security plan.

If Belarus makes progress along the democratic road it could also become part of the EU's new 'Eastern Partnership' scheme which it plans to set up with other former Soviet states Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The partnership is due to be launched in Prague in May, though no decision has yet been taken on the involvement on Belarus.

"What we don't want to do is to give the impression that we have no other option than to run to one side... and deceive the Europeans," said Lukashenko.

Source:

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1235062021.8

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