The EU is ready to suspend sanctions against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in a political shift following the release of the country’s last political prisoners, European sources told AFP Friday.
The decision to end travel bans and asset freezes against Lukashenko and 150 other people will be taken ahead of October 31, when the current set of measures expires and must be either renewed or scrapped, they said.
“This is a gesture in response to the gesture made by the regime when it freed the political prisoners this summer,” an EU diplomat told AFP.
A European source meanwhile said it would be a “political signal” from Brussels to Minsk.
The sanctions against Lukashenko were imposed in January 2011. Some of the other sanctions against his regime date back to 2004.
Current sanctions include an embargo on arms and equipment which could be used for internal repression, as well as asset freezes and travel bans against individuals.
In August, strongman Lukashenko released from jail six opposition leaders considered the last political prisoners in the ex-Soviet state, a move that came less than two months before presidential polls which take place Sunday.
Among the freed opponents was Mikola Statkevich, a former presidential candidate imprisoned since 2010.
The surprise move to release the six detainees came as Lukashenko, in power since 1994, seeks a fifth term in the October 11 election.
Once dubbed “Europe’s last dictator” by Washington for his authoritarian rule, Lukashenko’s releations with former master Moscow have chilled over the Ukraine conflict even as the country’s Russia-dependent economy grapples with a recession.
Earlier this year, Lukashenko made a return to the international scene, hosting Ukraine peace talks in Minsk between pro-Moscow rebels and the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia.
