BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
07/03/2008
EU signs deal on Belarus offices, as US ambassador ejected
(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission has signed an agreement with Minsk to open offices in the country, a statement announced Friday, just as Minsk ejected the US ambassador.
"Today is an important day for Belarus and for the commission," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.
"I am delighted that, following this signature, the commission can now proceed to open its delegation in Minsk," she said. "This is a much awaited development" that will help reinforce EU-Belarus ties.
Ferrero-Waldner said the EU wanted to normalise relations "provided that additional serious steps are taken in Belarus towards democratisation", and she urged Minsk to release imprisoned opposition leader Alexander Kozulin.
Earlier, Belarus asked the US ambassador to leave and recalled its own envoy to Washington in retaliation for US economic sanctions over human rights abuses.
In an angry reaction, the White House said the move was "deeply disappointing" and would serve to deepen the ex-Soviet state's isolation.
The announcement by Belarus followed sharp criticism from the United States of the authoritarian government's treatment of Kozulin.
Washington has described the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko as "Europe's last dictatorship" for cracking down on dissent since his election in 1994.
Ferrero-Waldner's spokewoman underlined that the commission believes "it is important to be on the ground, to have contacts with the authorities and with civil society."
Source:
http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1204907548.98
Archive
