The appointment of Uladzimir Makey as foreign minister may suggest that the role of the foreign ministry will increase, political analyst Dzyanis Melyantsow commented to BelaPAN on Monday.
"The foreign ministry as a whole and Makey himself were viewed as the main advocates of a pro-European policy in the government and Makey is considered to be the father of the liberalization idea declared in 2008," Mr. Melyantsow said.
"However, we should wait to find out who will be appointed to head the Presidential Administration, as it is no secret that all major foreign-policy decisions are made in the Presidential Administration and the foreign ministry is just an executor," he said.
"On the face of it, the appointment looks like a sign that the government will seek to warm relations with the West, but Makey is on the European Union’s blacklist and barred from entering the EU. It is not unlikely that he will be removed from the list. Syarhey Martynaw [the former foreign minister] avoided being entered in the list because he was assigned the role of a contact person. And now I guess it would be logical for the EU to remove Makey from the blacklist."
Mr. Makey was added to the EU’s list of Belarusians subject to travel bans and asset freezes on January 31, 2011 as one of those responsible for the government’s crackdown on political opponents following the December 2010 presidential election.
