Belarus welcomes European Parliament's call to ease EU sanctions

(MINSK) - Belarus welcomed Friday the European Parliament's call for EU nations to ease their sanctions against the former Soviet republic.

"This is a step in a good direction and we hope that all restrictions to cooperation between Belarus and the European Union will be lifted," Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Voronetsky said in a statement.

The European Parliament voted 597 to 31 for a re-examination of the sanctions imposed on Belarus with a view to an eventual suspension of "existing restrictive measures."

The parliament called on the member states and the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, to consider a six-month suspension of visa bans imposed on some Belarussian figures currently not able to enter any EU country.

At the same time it stressed there would be no easing of the visa ban for "those directly involved in violating democratic election standards and human rights."

During the six-month period Belarus' restrictive media laws should be eased, the parliament said.

EU foreign ministers will discuss a partial lifting of sanctions in Luxembourg on Monday despite legislative elections in Belarus last month which Western observers criticised as non-democratic.

Belarussian Foreign Minister Serge Martynov has been invited to the meeting -- the first such talks between Belarus and the EU since 2006.