BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/08/2006

EU weighs in to Latvia-Belarus row

Riga - The diplomatic row between Latvia and Belarus took on a wider significance Friday after the EU presidency slammed Minsk for its treatment of a Latvian diplomat.

'The Presidency of the European Union expresses its disapproval of the Belarusian authorities' actions... The presidency considers this conduct to be in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961,' a press statement said.

The statement was welcomed by Latvian diplomats, who first brought the issue to the EU's attention on Tuesday.

'We welcome the presidency's announcement and join the presidency in inviting Belarus to explain its actions and abide by its international commitments,' Latvian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Diana Eglite told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Belarus did not respond immediately to the presidency's comment, which came ten days after Belarusian security forces raided a Latvian diplomat's personal residence in Minsk. During the raid, some of the diplomat's personal possessions were confiscated.

Belarusian state TV then broadcast a video of a gay sex scene allegedly filmed in the diplomat's apartment and accused him of distributing pornography. Latvia responded by issuing a protest note and calling the entire series of events a 'provocation.'

'Such steps leave a very bad impression on bilateral relations and never go unanswered,' a foreign ministry press release stated.

Latvia's 'answer' came Tuesday, when Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks refused to meet Belarus' new ambassador, effectively stalling his accreditation. Pabriks pointed out that Minsk had not yet replied to his original protest note.

And a day later Riga declared the first secretary of the Belarusian embassy persona non grata, citing 'actions incompatible with diplomatic status.' The decision raised a storm of protest in the Belarusian media.

'The actions by the Latvian Foreign Ministry resemble a theatre of the absurd. And by declaring the Belarusian diplomat persona non grata, the Latvian Foreign Ministry demonstrated absurd hysterics,' Belarusian TV declared on Thursday.

Minsk's official reaction has been considerably less vocal. 'I'm not going to dwell on the reasons. We received information on the decision from the Latvian Foreign Ministry and it is being examined now,' a Foreign Ministry spokesman told journalists.

However, neither Latvia nor the EU wield much influence in Belarus, which is run by authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko has a long history of pressurising western diplomats, and his key ally, Russia, is not notably pro-EU either.

'Belarus doesn't need ties with the West: Lukashenko has nothing to lose,' said Atis Lejins of the Latvian Foreign Policy Institute.

It remains to be seen whether Minsk will pay more attention to Brussels and Helsinki than it does to Riga.

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1186944.php/EU_weighs_in_to_Latvia-Belarus_row