Expert on visa-free regime: Belarusian policy is example for other European countries and the whole world
Belarusian politics is not just an example for other European states, it is an example for the whole world of how to build a foreign policy, while people's diplomacy helps resist the constant information and psychological attacks that Belarus and the EU citizens are subjected to – as noted by Sergei Klishevich, a member of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on Education, Culture and Science
On December 20th, Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko supported the proposal of the Council of Ministers and the Foreign Ministry to extend the visa-free entry regime with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland for 2024. Mr. Klishevich commented, “The policy of openness and good-neighbourliness – initiated by Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko – has proved its effectiveness. Thanks to it, the republic has maintained contacts in various areas of socio-economic and socio-political co-operation with Western states, although the United States, jointly with its satellites and acolytes in many European countries, tried to cut off these contacts and deprive us of the opportunity to communicate.”
“The visa-free regime is now the main mechanism for restoring and entering the most promising areas of development between our states in the future. People's diplomacy is something that enables us to resist the constant information and psychological attacks that Belarus and the European population are subjected to. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the policy of openness, the opportunity for Europeans to visit Belarus without any restrictions prove the opposite. This makes Western politicians – who have failed to realise their plans to separate Belarus, to blockade it from Western society – angry. Our history and culture are certainly connected, among other things, with the history and culture of European states. Breaking off these relations means actually the destruction of the long-standing strong traditions of mutually respectful relations between our societies, and this is definitely unacceptable,” the MP added.
Mr. Klishevich continued, “Belarusian politics is not just an example for other European states now: it is an example for the whole world of how to build a foreign policy in conditions when others are trying to strangle the republic, put it in a trap and scare the rest of the world community with it. It is great that such a policy continues, and the decision of the Head of State confirms this.”
As Belarus’ State Border Committee reported earlier, since early 2023, about 405 thousand EU residents have visited Belarus without visas: 242,240 citizens of Lithuania, 93,277 citizens and 28,319 non-citizens of Latvia, as well as 41,090 citizens of Poland. In total, 789,912 foreigners have travelled to Belarus since the launch of the visa-free regime: 490,503 citizens of Lithuania, 181,411 citizens and 55,198 non-citizens of Latvia, as well as 62,800 citizens of Poland.
