Lithuania says it keeps "doors open" for Belarus, refuses to comment on EU's possible sanctions (Jan 4 2011, BNS)
The European Union (EU) will have to decide later in January on a joint response to the Belarusian administration's strict actions against the opposition, Lithuania's Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis said on Tuesday, emphasizing the necessity to keep "doors open" for Minsk.
Underlining the role of Lithuania, as chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in searching for compromise, Azubalis refused to comment on the proposals made by EU partners to again ban entry of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other officials to EU countries.
"I believe our main task will be coming up through discussions within this month with a unified response to the development sin Belarus, and first of all in the European Union," the minister told a news conference.
"We are keeping doors open and are holding consultations with the Belarusians, we are using all possible diplomatic instruments we have available to leave Belarus' doors open for Europe," Azubalis added.
He said he had discussed the situation in Belarus in a telephone conversation with his German counterpart, Guido Vesterwelle. The conversation took place a day after media reports about discussions within the German government of Chancellor Angela Merkel about the possibility of reintroducing sanctions against Belarus.
"We spoke about finding an adequate and unified response, which would evaluate the situation in Belarus," Azubalis said in comment of the conversation with the German foreign minister.
Earlier on Tuesday, Brussels' news portal EUobserver cited Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt as saying that Lukashenko and scores of other Belarusian officials would again be banned from entering European Union countries.
The Lithuanian diplomacy chief did not refer to specific actions: "I respect the opinion of every EU and OSCE member. We assess the opinions, store them and discuss them, and you will all be informed as soon as a decision is made."
Western countries have leveled severe criticism at Belarus for detention of hundreds of protesters including opposition candidates in the recent presidential elections.
