EU lift majority of sanctions against Belarus



BRUSSELS: -- EU foreign ministers decided Monday to lift asset freezes and visa bans against Belorussian president Alexander Lukashenko and 169 other individuals including three companies. The arms embargo will remain in place as well as restrictive measures on four people.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said the situation on the ground had improved and praised Minsk for its role in the Ukrainian conflict.

‘We see a situation in the country that is showing a positive trend, a trend that we need and we want to encourage. In the last months: resumption of the EU-Belarus human rights dialogue, the role that Belarus has played in being constructive in the region, in particular on the Ukrainian conflict, she said.

Ministers believe the move will bring about a new phase for EU Belarus relations. The German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said he was relieved, as the liberation of political prisoners was the point where the EU and Belarus could re-shape their relationship.

In their statement, the EU said Belarus needed to develop a vibrant civil society with more freedom for the media and abolish the death penalty.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-16

Belarus is leaning towards the EU and away from Russia. Putin's got to be a little bit upset by this. LOL Seems Belarus doesn't want to end up like Ukraine:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samuel-ramani/belaruss-antikremlin-tilt_b_9052152.html

While Russia's retaliatory response to the Ukraine-EU free trade agreement was predictable, its closest ally Belarus surprisingly announced that it would uphold its own free trade agreement with Ukraine. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka's decision is the latest in a string of anti-Kremlin policies emanating from Minsk. Belarus has strengthened diplomatic relations and economic ties with Middle Eastern countries opposed to Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, actively courted Chinese investment, and thawed relations with the West in exchange for sanctions relief.