BBelarus begins the procedure for suspending the readmission agreement with the EU, announced its withdrawal from the Eastern Partnership initiative and recalled its ambassador from Brussels. This is a response to the sanctions imposed earlier by the European Union
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that it is starting the implementation of the procedure for suspending the readmission agreement with the European Union. The message of the diplomatic department is quoted by the state agency BelTA.
“We cannot fulfill our obligations under this agreement under the conditions of sanctions and restrictions imposed by the European Union”…”. The suspension of the agreement will have a negative impact on cooperation with the European Union in the fight against illegal migration and organized crime, ” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Readmission agreement at the same timethe agreement on the simplification of the visa regime was signed in 2020. The readmission agreement established obligations and procedures for the EU member states and Belarus regarding the admission back to their territory of their citizens (as well as in some cases foreigners who previously were or lived in this state) who are subject to deportation.
RBC sent a request to the European Commission.
Also on Monday, it was announced that the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the EU (this post is occupied by Alexander Mikhnevich) is being recalled to Minsk for consultations, his colleague Dirk Schubel, head of the EU delegation in Minsk, was also invited to travel to Brussels for consultations in order to convey to his leadership the position of the Belarusian side on the unacceptability of pressure and sanctions. Earlier, this technique was used by Russia, which, after the next US sanctions, invited its ambassador Anatoly Antonov to Moscow and recommended that the US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan go to Washington, which he did.
Minsk also intends to ban the entry to Belarus of representatives of European structures and persons from the European Union countries who contributed to the introduction of restrictive measures, the Foreign Ministry said. On June 24, the European Union adopted the next, fifth package of sanctions against Belarus, introducing sectoral sanctions for the first time, in particular restricting trade in potash fertilizers.
Another measure announced on Monday was the decision of Minsk to withdraw from the Eastern Partnership initiative. Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei warned at the end of May that this could happen. “Against the background of the toughened sanctions pressure, our country’s further participation in the Eastern Partnership may lose all meaning.” Without Belarus, this initiative also loses all meaning, ” Makei said. The Eastern Partnership program has been operating since 2009 and covers sixthe countries of the post-Soviet space, in addition to Belarus, are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova. An association agreement and the creation of free trade zones were signed with three countries-Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova-and agreements on visa facilitation were signed with the rest. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized this program. The EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative is aimed at separating the closest neighboring countries from Russia, he expressed confidence in 2019.