David Kramer, the president of the Freedom House, stoutly maintains that Belarus should not participate in the forthcoming summit of the Eastern Partnership in Vilnius.
“I don’t think representatives of the Belarusian authorities should be engaged if there are no any alterations in the current situation [in the country]. I would most like if civil activists and human rights defenders will represent Belarus,” news agency Interfax quotes Mr Kramer.
One may well negotiate with the Belarusian regime but there is no place for them at the summit, the president of the Freedom House stresses.
The Eastern Partnership is a project initiated by Poland and a subsequent proposal was prepared in cooperation with Sweden. It was presented by Poland and Sweden at the EU’s General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 26 May 2008. The Eastern Partnership initiative is targeted at post-Soviet countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine).
The Partnership aims at promoting democracy and good governance, strengthening energy security, promoting sector reform and environment protection, encouraging people to people contacts, supporting economic and social development and offering additional funding for projects to reduce socio-economic imbalances and increase stability.
Belsat
