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21 Jan, 2011 07:36

Lukashenko’s allegations of coup d’etat absurd — Poland

Lukashenko’s allegations of coup d’etat absurd — Poland

The Polish Foreign Ministry has called the Belarusian president’s statements that Poland was involved in an attempted coup d’etat in Belarus absurd.

Aleksandr Lukashenko accused Western countries, namely Poland and Germany, of planning “the overthrow of Belarus’ constitutional order” and financing special programs for this purpose. Lukashenko said on Thursday that Poland and Germany had plans already in place and that it was “not an invention of our intelligence agencies.”German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called the accusations “groundless” and an attempt by Lukashenko to draw attention away from his lawless actions.In fact, that was Lukashenko’s response to the sanctions against him and his country, voted for on Thursday in the European Parliament. European deputies demanded visa restrictions for the president and around 100 state officials allegedly responsible for repressions against the opposition after the disputed presidential election. The proposed sanctions also cut financial flows to Belarus and prevent its participation in major international decision-making forums. The United States supports the European Parliament’s decision, said the official representative of the US State Department Philip Crowley, adding that Washington is ready to reinstate unilateral sanctions against Belarus. “This is something that we are consulting closely with our counterparts in the European Union,” Philip Crowley stated on Friday. “We are very much aware and supportive of steps that the EU is taking, and we are also, in light of our concerns, prepared to take additional steps to restore sanctions that have previously been lifted.”Belarus is now seeking support from Russia. Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian premier Vladimir Putin. Moscow promised not to impose its own sanctions on Belarus and also pledged financial subsidies worth $4,124 billion at the expense of duty-free oil supplies.

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