Belarus suspends participation in Eastern Partnership initiative

Belarus has suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership initiative of the European Union, the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on its website on 28 June, BelTA has learned.

Head of the European Union's Delegation to Belarus Dirk Schuebel was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 28 June. The ministry informed him about the concrete steps Belarus has been forced to take in response to the unprecedented restrictive measures imposed on the country by the EU. One of these steps is the suspension of Belarus' participation in the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative.

BelTA reported earlier that in November 2020, Belarus decided to downgrade its participation in the Eastern Partnership initiative to an expert level due to a politicized approach of partners and the sanctions imposed against Belarus by some EU countries. “We see that there are attempts to politicize a number of infrastructure and interregional projects within the framework of this initiative. Therefore, it was decided to reduce the level of Belarus' participation in this initiative to an expert one," Belarus' Ministers of Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said then.

The Eastern Partnership initiative involved six post-Soviet countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The initiative is aimed at promoting political association and economic integration with the European Union.