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Georgia welcomes EU lifting sanctions against Belarus

Xinhua, February 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Georgia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday welcomed the European Union (EU)'s decision to lift the bulk of restrictive sanctions against Belarus.

The decision represents yet another step towards deepening cooperation between the partners, which was in line with the interests of both Belarus and Europe, the ministry said in a statement.

Georgia welcomes strengthening of relations between Belarus and the EU that will contribute to the economic development of the region, as well as to the achievement of common goals of the Eastern Partnership, the ministry said.

In October, the EU suspended asset freezes and travel ban sanctions against 170 individuals, including President Alexander Lukashenko, and three entities in Belarus. On Monday, EU foreign ministers decided to make that decision permanent.

The EU, however, said it will maintain its arms embargo on Belarus and will keep sanctions for another year on four men suspected of being behind the disappearances of two opposition politicians.

The EU imposed visa and economic sanctions against Minsk in January 2011 in response to "the continued incarceration of political prisoners and crackdown on political activists, journalists and civil society representatives." Endit