Belarus does not criticize Europe for its understanding of human rights but has its own stance on this issue, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in Minsk on March 9 while meeting with that Stavros Lambrinidis, the European Union`s special representative for human rights.
“The European Union is a mature organization, it has intelligent people, they know how to formulate what they want, but we have out own understanding of humanitarian issues, including human rights,” Mr. Lukashenka was quoted as saying by state-run news agency BelTA. He emphasized that he meant not only his personal views but also the opinion of Belarusian authorities in general.
The Belarusian leader expressed satisfaction that the “head-on confrontation” between Belarus and the EU was over. In the past, Brussels and Minsk “built some strange wall between themselves and tried to exchange phrases over that fence, not even to talk,” he said, expressing hope that that period had come to an end.
The EU views the abolition of its restrictive measures against Belarus as an opportunity to increase bilateral cooperation in all areas, including political, economic and human rights cooperation, Stavros Lambrinidis stressed.
Mr. Lambrinidis, who arrived in Minsk on March 8 for a four-day visit, is scheduled to have meetings with representatives of Belarusian authorities, political parties and civil society and with human rights defenders. On March 10, Mr. Lambrinidis will attend a UN-organized international conference on the death penalty.
Belsat.eu, following BelaPAN
