Ad
President Lukashenko (l) and Russia's Vladimir Putin - Lukashenko is welcome back in Europe, but not forgiven (Photo: president.gov.by)

EU welcomes back Belarus autocrat

EU foreign ministers on Monday (13 October) lifted a visa ban on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Uzbekistan president-in-waiting Rustam Inoyatov. But EU diplomats say Mr Lukashenko is not off the hook for crimes committed under his watch.

The Belarus move sees an EU travel ban suspended for six months on the country's authoritarian leader and 35 of his officials. Travel restrictions were upheld on five members of the Belarus nomenklatura - Viktor Sheyman, Yury Sivakov, Dmitri...

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

President Lukashenko (l) and Russia's Vladimir Putin - Lukashenko is welcome back in Europe, but not forgiven (Photo: president.gov.by)

Tags

Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's Foreign Affairs Editor. He has been writing about foreign and security affairs for EUobserver since 2005. He is Polish but grew up in the UK. He has also written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times of London.

Ad
Ad