"We will cooperate but will expect progress and understanding on the Belarusian side. We will seek that Belarus stay close to the European path. The EU position on political prisoners hasn't gone away, the differences in attitudes and assessments are also there," the minister told BNS.
In protest to repressions against the opposition, the EU has frozen funds and banned EU entry for 243 Belarusians. 32 companies also had their bank accounts in the EU frozen.
The EU has demanded that Minsk immediately release political prisoners and stop persecution of the civil society and independent media.
According to data provided by the opposition, 11 persons are in Belarusian prisons for their political beliefs, in addition to further 38 subjected to some type of prosecution measures.
At a meeting with the Belarusian prime minister, Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius said he expected a thaw in EU-Minsk relations, adding that Lithuania's presidency over the EU Council in the second half of 2013 could contribute to the objective.
