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Minsk should release and exonerate political prisoners to improve its relations with EU, Polish ambassador says

The European Union is waiting until there are no political prisoners in Belarus, the Polish ambassador to Belarus, Leszek Szerepka, told reporters in Minsk on Wednesday.

“The European Union has a clear viewpoint on the possibility of improving its relations with Belarus,” the ambassador said. “Our conditions for this remain unchanged: we are waiting until there are no political prisoners in Belarus.”

Mr. Szerepka stressed that political prisoners should be not only released but also fully exonerated, including those who had been released but not exonerated and therefore could not run in elections.

“Poland fully shares this viewpoint,” he said. “We are waiting for decisive steps from Belarus.”

“There have been no proper relations between Poland and Belarus since the late 1990s and the situation in Belarus is a reason,” he said. “On the other hand, we would like these relations to be better. We are neighbors and we try to find ways to cooperate.” //BelaPAN