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Belarus ambassadors return to EU

25 April 2012 21:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The permanent representative of Belarus to the European Union Viktor Gaisenok and its ambassador to Poland Andrei Evdochenko have returned to their diplomatic missions, Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Earlier the ambassadors were recalled for consultations. Relations between Belarus and the EU became strained in February when the EU extended its list of personae non grata among Belarusian state officials and companies imposed in the wake of the arrests of participants in protests after the presidential election in December 2010.

In response to this, Minsk recalled its permanent representative in the EU and ambassador to Poland. EU states withdrew their ambassadors from Minsk.

In April Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned a key political prisoner and his former rival in the race for presidency, Andrei Sannikov. This step has become one of the main conditions of the EU to normalize dialogue with Belarus. EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton said that the release and rehabilitation of prisoners "will undoubtedly contribute to the possibility to move towards improving relations between the EU and Belarus."

Poland, Lithuania and Sweden sent their representatives back to Minsk on Wednesday. According to EU diplomats, other ambassadors are going to return over the next hours and days.