CoE Committee of Ministers suspends relations with Belarus over Ukraine

BRUSSELS. March 17 (Interfax) - The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided on Thursday to suspend relations with Belarus over the situation in Ukraine, the Icelandic permanent mission to the Council of Europe said.

"The CoE Committee of Ministers today decided to suspend all relations with Belarus as a result of the country's active participation in Russia's aggression against Ukraine," the mission said on Twitter.

"It also decided to maintain and enhance relations with Belarusian civil society and opposition in exile," it said.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said later in the day, "The Council of Europe's decision puts on hold constructive interaction with the Republic of Belarus in a number of areas, including as regards the problems of the death penalty."           

Provided its willingness to maintain dialogue, Belarus intends to inventory the Council of Europe's legal mechanisms it is engaged in from the standpoint of their real relevance and compliance with [the country's] national interests, it said.

"This situation vividly demonstrates yet again that neither the Council of Europe member states nor the countries with which this organization maintains cooperation can be protected from the arbitrariness of the Western coalition, which will act based not on its own values but exclusively on its own narrow geopolitical interests," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.

The CoE terminated Russia's membership of the organization on Wednesday.