BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/04/2006

Belarus wants dialogue with Poland despite rows - ambassador

The Belarusian ambassador in Warsaw said Wednesday his country would not bow to outside pressure but wanted normal relations with neighboring Poland.

Pavel Latushko said Belarus had proposed easing visa regulations and signing bilateral border and customs agreements with Poland, which has been one of the most vociferous critics of President Alexander Lukashenk's regime.

But he added: 'Belarus will not bend under pressure of any external factors and conditions, wherever they come from'.

Relations between the two countries worsened after Lukashenko's victory in the March 19 presidential elections.

Mariusz Maszkiewicz, a former Polish ambassador to Belarus, was detained in Minsk on March 28. He was among more than 150 detained opposition protesters who regarded election results as fraudulent. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail, but was later taken to hospital with heart problems and released April 7.

Earlier this month, foreign ministers of the 25 European Union member states included Lukashenko along with 30 other Belarusian officials on a blacklist that bans them from entering the union.

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1156667.php/Belarus_wants_dialogue_with_Poland_despite_rows_-_ambassador