Belarus

According to an EU diplomat, the bloc is strongly considering re-imposing visa restrictions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko following from the disputed presidential election in December, in which police forces delivered a harsh crackdown on political protestors. The EU previously imposed visa restrictions back in 2006 in the aftermath of the last presidential election, only to rescind them in 2008 in order to help spur political reforms in the ex-Soviet country. This recent step backwards in relations could push Belarus towards developing a stronger political relationship with Russia, on which it relies for foreign financing and energy imports, at

To read the full article, please choose one of the following options: