EU-US summit participants: Lukashenka regime should be held accountable for escalating repression

On the back of Tuesday’s meeting, the leaders of the United States and European Union member countries issued a joint statement Towards A Renewed Transatlantic Partnership. Among other things, it touches upon the situation in Belarus.

According to the document, the US and the EU are determined to continue to stand in support of the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the EU’s Eastern partners and will support the reform path of Ukraine, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova.

“We stand with the people of Belarus and their demands for human rights and democracy. We resolve to hold the Lukashenka regime to account for its escalating attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms and for endangering aviation safety through the unprecedented and unacceptable forced diversion of an EU passenger airplane under false pretences, and the subsequent arrest of a journalist as part of a continuing assault on opposition voices and the freedom of the press,” the statement reads.

The EU-US summit took place on the eve of US President Joseph Biden‘s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. The Belarusian issue is expected to be discussed at the event as well.

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