Polish FM: Poland will ‘not oppose’ lifting of Belarus sanctions
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
12.10.2015 14:53
Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said in Luxembourg that Poland will not be "firmly opposed" to the lifting of EU trade sanctions against Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (R) with his youngest son Nikolai leaves a booth at a polling station during presidential elections in Minsk, Belarus, 11 October 2015. Photo: EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH
However, he stressed that before such a decision is taken, authorities should assess the Belarusian presidential elections last week-end.
"This will be a subject we will keep returning to. There will be proposals for reducing or lifting of sanctions, and when they emerge, we'll talk about it," Schetyna told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.
The Central Election Commission in Belarus announced on Monday that Alexander Lukashenko won the presidential elections in the country with a landslide victory of 83.5 percent of the ballot, securing a fifth consecutive term.
Schetyna pointed out that this time the elections were quieter than the previous one five years ago, when opposition protests were suppressed by the security forces and anti-government activists were detained. (rg)
Source: PAP