Tbilisi Slams Belarus President for Imposing Visa Regime

Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze said at a special session of the Parliament on June 10 that the decision of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to impose visa regime for Georgia confirms ineffectiveness of the decisions accepted within the frames of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) .

In particular, Belarus violated the treaty on non-visa movement of CIS citizens on the territory of the member states, which was signed in 1992 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.      

?On the one hand, it is not worth commenting on Lukashenko?s statement, but on the other ? we cannot leave his statements without reaction,? Nino Burjanadze said on June 10 after Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Relations Kote Gabashvili acquainted the MPs with the details of the draft resolution which will react on Lukashenko?s policy.

According to the draft resolution, non-visa regime will remain in force for the Belarus citizens, while the President of Belarus will be prohibited to enter Georgia. The Georgian Parliament will apparently approve the draft resolution next week.   

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko accepted a decision to impose visa regime for   Georgia on June 9, citing the need ?to continue efforts aimed at intensifying struggle  against organized and transnational crime, protecting interests of the third countries neighboring Belarus.?

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