Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Legislation

"(The sanctions have been lifted) as expected, but I want to underline that we adopted a document after the meeting that sets out a broad range of criteria for future relations," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told BNS after EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

"(The document) underscores positive things achieved over the last period in relations with Belarus, such as their return to a human rights dialog with the European Union, as well as a dialog on modernization and visa facilitation," Linkevicius said.

"What is important is that Belarus had a special position on South Ossetia and Abkhazia and a position regarding the annexation of the Crimea that differed from that of Russia. Also, it did not automatically join the sanctions that Russia imposed on us," he said.

According to the minister, while lifting the sanctions, the EU expects that Belarus will make progress on the issues of opposition parties, political prisoners and cooperation with international organizations in the field of nuclear safety. The latter is related to the Astravyets nuclear power plant that Belarus is building close to its border with Lithuania.

"One of the sources is information from our embassies. We constantly make our assessments and send our recommendations to Brussels. That monitoring will remain in place. Contacts at the level of ministers have also become more frequent. This is also a source in assessing where things are moving. The monitoring will definitely continue and the bar of expectations of requirements for Belarus has not been lowered," he said.

Linkevicius said that the lifting of the sanctions was an optimal solution and an opportunity for Belarus to make progress in all the areas mentioned in the document.