Poland in favour of lifting EU sanctions on Belarus
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
15.02.2016 12:43
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said on Monday that Warsaw supports the lifting of EU financial sanctions and visa restrictions on Belarus.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. Photo: EPA/ANDREAS GEBERT
Waszczykowski also said he plans to visit Belarus in the near future.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Waszczykowski said that easing sanctions against Belarus would be an "experiment".
"We, as neighbors, are happy with that, because it will improve our relations, I hope,” he added.
Waszczykowski told reporters: "I’m also planning a trip to Belarus in the near future, to see if there has been any progress and whether the goal of Belarus is the desire and determination to cooperate with the EU and, above all, to cooperate with us, with Poland."
EU foreign ministers are expected later on Monday to allow most of the bloc's sanctions against Belarus to expire.
Brussels imposed sanctions targeting the authorities in Minsk, including President Alexander Lukashenko, after flawed presidential elections and a crackdown against the Belarusian opposition. The sanctions included asset freezes and visa bans.
In October, the EU suspended for four months sanctions against 170 individuals in response to the release of political prisoners by Minsk and a thaw in relations between Brussels and Belarus. (pk/rg)
Source: PAP/IAR