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Išbandyti
2012 10 09

President's adviser: Lithuania can't afford to keep no relations with Belarus

Being a neighbor, Lithuania cannot afford to have no relations with Belarus, and the entire Europe speaks against its isolation, says Jovita Neliupšienė, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė's chief adviser on foreign policy.
Lietuvos ir Baltarusijos siena Baltasamanės pelkėje
Lithuanian-Belarusian border / VSAT nuotr.

On the other hand, she said, by imposing targeted sanctions, Europe is sending a clear message to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who is violating fundamental human rights.

"It's impossible not to have relations when you are neighbors. When you have a border of almost 700 kilometers, close and well-established historic, trade, and cultural relations, it's unrealistic to cut them all. The whole Europe recognizes that isolation is not beneficial and does not serve any purpose," Neliupšienė told BNS.

In her words, you cannot distance yourself from the solution of many common human, economic, transit, environmental, cultural, security and similar problems.

"Besides, there's no other way to set an example of good democracy but to allow ordinary Belarusians to feel it on the streets of Vilnius or any other European capital. It’s obvious," said the presidential adviser.

"Whether and how to communicate with the political regime is another issue. Here it's also obvious that a clear message has to be sent to a regime that violates fundamental human rights. In Belarus' case, this message consists of targeted sanctions against specific supporters of the regime: visa refusal and suspensions of economic relations," Neliupšienė said.

The adviser to President Dalia Grybauskaitė also underlined that "in terms of national security, it's good that Belarus is an independent state and makes key decisions itself."

"The logical conclusion from all of that is the "two-way" policy both Lithuania and the EU are following. There's still no effective policy that would allow finding the balance between respect for democracy and human rights and rational pragmatic interests," the adviser said.

In response to repressions against the Belarusian opposition, the EU has banned 243 people related to the Belarusian regime from entering the EU and has also frozen their personal and business accounts.

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