EP President: Dictator Lukashenka's hands smeared with blood

The Belarusian ruler doesn't belong to a democratic community, Martin Schulz thinks.

“He is a dictator whose hands are smeared with blood. He doesn't belong in a democratic community,” Schulz said in Vilnius at a meeting of the chairs of the EP groups and leaders of Lithuanian parliamentary committees, ru.delfi.lt reports.

He gave this answer to Benediktas Juodka, the chairman of the Lithuanian parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, who asked if representatives of Belarus should be invited to  the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November.

The Lithuanian MP suggested that Belarus's representatives should be invited to the Vilnius summit.

Juodka said Lukashenka's rank supposes that he must be invited, but he is on the EU visa ban list. If the country's prime minister Mikhail Miasnikovich is invited, Lukashenka will get angry, while foreign minister Uladzimir Makei is on the blacklist too, Juodka thinks.  

“It is important to understand that no matter how we treat Belarus, we must clearly realise that Aliaksandr Lukashenka is a dictator, who ordered to pronounce death sentences for two young people last year, though, in my opinion, they were absolutely innocent. I personally regard it as a political murder,” the EP President replied to Juodke.

On the other hand, he emphasised that the people of Belarus mustn't be punished, because they already suffer from the dictatorial rule.

“We need to find a path in the middle. On the one hand, we should say a definite 'No' to the dictator, but on the other hand we should open the door for the people of Belarus. It's not easy to find the middle way. We don't have a recipe for that,” Schulz said.

The Eastern Partnership Summit in late November  will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, the country that will hold the presidency of the EU Council.