Declaration delivered by H.E. Ambassador Stanislav Raščan
I would like to draw the attention of the participating States to the following Declaration by the Presidency of the EU, issued on the 27th of February 2008:
“The Presidency, on behalf of the European Union, expresses its condolences to imprisoned former Belarusian presidential candidate, Mr Aliaksandr Kazulin and his daughters on the death of Irina Kazulina.
The European Union takes note of the release of Mr Kazulin from prison for three days so that he can say farewell to his wife. The European Union reiterates its call upon the competent Belarusian authorities for the permanent and unconditional release of Mr Kazulin.
The final release of all political prisoners would be considered by the EU as a concrete step towards Belarusian compliance with core European values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. This would enable the EU to progressively re-engage with Belarus, in connection with further steps by Belarus in that direction.
The candidate countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.”
