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EU urges Belarusian government to release all political prisoners

The European Union urges the Belarusian government once again to release and exonerate all political prisoners, Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, told reporters following a meeting of the Council of the EU in Luxembourg on Monday.

The EU also remains remains committed to supporting the Belarusian people, Ms. Ashton said, adding that the EU was set to continue talks about the signing of visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Belarus.

At its Monday meeting, the Council of the EU voted to impose an arms embargo on Belarus amid its deep concern at the "deteriorating human rights, democracy and rule of law situation" in the country. The Council also decided to add more people to the EU's list of designated Belarusians subject to its restrictive measures and freeze the assets of three companies linked to the Lukashenka regime.

Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for Ms. Ashton, told BelaPAN that the names of the companies and individuals in question would be published in the EU's Official Journal on June 21. //BelaPAN