BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/04/2009

Czech President not not shake hands with Lukashenko

Prague - Czech President Vaclav Klaus will not hold out his hand to Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and he will not receive him at Prague Castle if he arrives in Prague to attend an EU-Eastern Partnership summit, Klaus's spokesman Radim Ochvat said today.

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg today handed an invitation to the May 7 summit in Belarus on behalf of the EU.

Ochvat said Klaus was "rather" surprised at the invitation for Belarus.

"The President is surprised at the double morals that is applied, and says he will not hold out his hand to Mr Lukashenko and will not receive him at Prague Castle," Ochvat said.

The invitation to Belarus to the summit was handed by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg on behalf of the EU in Minsk today.

Foreign news agencies write that Lukashenko himself was invited, but Czech diplomacy says the invitation is destined for Belarus that will decide on whom it will send to Prague.

"We expect to learn soon who will arrive," Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova said.

Czech diplomacy says the invitation was consulted with the other member countries of the EU that recently decided to hold dialogue with the country.

The invitation was endorsed by outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek who will direct the summit as a representative of the country presiding over the EU, Opletalova told CTK by phone from Minks.

Schwarzenberg said on Czech Television today he thinks the EU's attitude to Belarus is correct and that he hopes that the country, criticised for violating human rights, will start to take democratisation-aimed steps.

"I very much hope for this. The EU has embarked on the correct path (towards Belarus) and we hope that we will continue to pursue it," Schwarzenberg said.

Source:

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-president-not-not-shake-hands-with-lukashenko/371752

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