Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, EU – Baltic States, EU – CIS, Legislation, Lithuania

Alexander Kozulin and Audronius Azubalis. Vilnius, 6.01.2011.

"Essentially wrong actions of the Government of Belarus continue and the European Union will have to take this into consideration when taking a decision regarding future relations with Belarus in the end of January. We shall not be able to simply disregard the events of 19 December and ignore what is happening in Belarus: detainees are not released, searches are continued, as well as arrests, and campaigns of intimidation are carried out against the civil society. Actions directed against the independent media and non-governmental organizations, including the search of the Helsinki Group Headquarters, are becoming more malicious," Azubalis said.

The Minister believes that the events following the elections testify to not only brutal actions of the Government of Belarus against the democratization process, but also the fact that the public spirit in Belarus during the recent years acquired greater weight in the country's society.

"Regardless of all the European Union's decisions regarding future relations with the official Minsk, we will do everything so that the civil society would continue to develop and strengthen," head of the Lithuanian diplomacy said.

The guests were also informed about the Foreign Minister's telephone conversations of 6 January with heads of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) institutions, during which further actions regarding relations with Belarus were discussed.

During the meeting, Azubalis reiterated the position that it was the wrong decision to terminate the OSCE mission in Minsk.

The Minister emphasized that Lithuania's support to the Vilnius-based European Humanities University (EHU) and other initiatives concerning Belarusian civil society remained firm and unchanging.