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MINSK, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - The Belarusian Interior Ministry said Wednesday the EU was pursuing a policy of double standards by refusing to attend a Europol conference in the country's capital, Minsk.
The European Union's boycott of the Europol conference is part of EU efforts to isolate Belarus after the disputed presidential elections in the country in March, which propelled Alexander Lukashenko to a new five-year term. The controversial leader, who has been much criticized for his human-rights record, has ruled since 1994.
"We cannot qualify the EU's step as anything other than a new attempt to demonstrate its policy of double standards towards Belarus," a ministry spokesman said before the conference opened Wednesday. "The demarche staged by Europol countries is not guided by the interests of their citizens."
The Minsk conference is expected to discuss measures against terrorism, organized crime and making interaction between the Interpol national offices and its central bureau more effective.
The spokesman added that the Europeans' refusal to come to the Belarusian capital could be interpreted as a political ban on Europol representatives attending a conference in Belarus.
