Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko's offer to expel political prisoners to the EU is most likely empty rhetoric, diplomatic sources say.
The Belarusian president floated the idea during remarks to press while visiting a paper factory in Shklov in the east of the country on Thursday (7 July).
"If the EU wants to take them [the prisoners], we will deliver the tickets and send them out tomorrow. No question about it, let them take them. If they are such guardians of political prison...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.