Makei remains on EU blacklist

The Foreign Minister of Belarus remains on the list of persons banned from entering the European Union.

BelaPAN news agency received this information from Maja Kocijancic, a spokesperson for EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.

Makei was put on the EU blacklist on January 31, 2011, when the European Union resumed sanctions against the Belarusian officials responsible for human rights abuses. Uladzimir Makei was then the head of the Lukashenka Administration.

On August 20, Uladizmir Makei was appointed foreign minister of Belarus. Maja Kocijancic said commenting on the appointment that the European Union would continue to work with Uladzimir Makei along the same lines as it did with the former minister Syarhei Martynau. Since  Makei was subject to the EU’s restrictive measures, the EU would assess his status in the context of the upcoming review of restrictive measures in autumn, Kocijancic noted.

At a meeting in Luxembourg on October 15, the EU Foreign Ministers took a decision to extend sanctions against the Belarusian regime  until October 31, 2013.