Latvian MFA: EU's stance won't change until Statkevich is released

Lukashenka should free political prisoners.

Juris Poikāns, Ambassador-at-Large for Eastern Partnership at the Latvian MFA, said it to Euroradio.

– Belarusian foreign minister Uladzimir Makei said our country would insist that the Belarusian delegation to the EaP summit in Riga in May should be led by Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Is it probable?

– President Lukashenka has never taken part in Eastern Partnership summits. We want to develop relations with all Eastern Partnership members. You know that Latvia and Belarus have very good relations, historical ties and economic contacts. We are interested in strengthening relations between Belarus and the EU. But we disagree on the human rights issue. A possible invitation of the president to the summit depends on the human rights issue and, above all, political prisoners. It would be hard to achieve progress without solving this problem. But we will work with the Belarusian party. Our officials visit Minsk rather often. We try to convince the Belarusian government that the issue is very important for the EU. However, I'd prefer not to guess if he will be invited.

– I've heard from several EU officials that Europe has begun to look at Lukashenka at a different angle after the Minsk talks over Ukraine...

– Belarus played a positive role if we speak about Ukrainian problems. It is evident that Belarus has become an important platform due to the talks in Minsk. This is the achievement that was assessed positively. Nevertheless, everything relating to a deeper cooperation depends not only on Belarus's constructive approach to the Ukrainian problems, but also on the respect for human rights. This is an important part of the dialogue between Belarus and the EU. We see some progress, but it must be confirmed by progress in other areas.

– What should be done if the situation is like that: Makei insists on Lukashenka's presence at the Riga summit, but the political prisoners are still in jail?

– The summit is in two and a half months. It's hard to say where we will be on May 21. The European Union has a clear understanding of the status of the political prisoners, especially Statkevich, a former presidential candidate. The Belarusian party thinks they are criminals, but the EU party has another opinion. We have two opinions, and we need to reach an agreement. I don't think the stance of the European Union will change until Statkevich is released.