Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov used a Wednesday visit to Bratislava to criticize the European Union's policy of isolating Belarus following Alexander Lukashenko's reelection, arguing that disputes between the EU and any government should be resolved through dialogue rather than exclusion.
Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan, speaking alongside Lavrov at a joint news conference, reaffirmed his country's full backing for EU measures against Minsk. He stressed that the sanctions were intended to maintain contact with ordinary Belarusians, not to harm them.
EU leaders had agreed at their March Brussels summit to expand a travel ban on Belarusian officials, barring them from all 25 member states, and said they were considering additional trade restrictions. They described Belarus as a glaring democratic outlier on the continent.
The United States has similarly labeled Belarus Europe's last dictatorship and announced plans for targeted travel and economic penalties against the country.
Lavrov, who arrived in the Slovak capital on Tuesday, was also scheduled to meet President Ivan Gasparovic and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda later that day.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.