Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (file photo) (epa)
April 5, 2006 -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today accused the European Union of failing to apply the same standards in its policies toward former Soviet republics.
Lavrov, on a visit to the Slovak capital Bratislava, was referring specifically to the EU's position on Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova's breakaway republic of Transdniester.
He said the EU should seek to resolve problems in its relations with Belarus through dialogue, and not by isolating it.
The EU criticized last month's presidential election in Belarus as neither free nor fair. It is considering travel bans against a number of Belarusian officials, including President Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
(ITAR-TASS, lenta.ru)
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