Karel Schwarzenberg: Minsk slows down Schengen visa issue

The foreign minister of the Czech Republic, Karel Schwarzenberg, met with head of the BNR Rada Ivonka Survilla.

Ivonka Survilla gave an interview to Radio Svaboda after the meeting.

“We spoke about Schengen visas for Belarusians. Mr Schwarzenberg says it's not Europe but Belarus that stands against lower fees and liberalisation of the visa regime. He said it's hard to discuss joint actions in this area, because some countries want to act basing only on mutual agreements. Europe is ready, but the Belarusian authorities resist. In this situation Europe can do very little. But he takes these facts into account and will talk to Europe about the issue,” she said.

The question of supporting the Belarusian democratic forces was raised at the meeting.

“We talked about political prisoners and discussed actions against the Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk in 2014. We also spoke about the Erasmus project. Mr Schwarzenberg said he was involved in the project for a long time and noted he had support and would support the attempts to allow more Belarusian students to receive scholarships in Europe. Another topic that we discussed was giving the status of an ethic minority to Belarusians in the Czech Republic. He knows the issue well and supports the proposal,” Ivonka Survilla said.

The meeting of the BNR Rada head and the Czech foreign minister was held on Freedom Day on March 25 – the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People's Republic.

Photo: ptel.cz