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“We have decided to restrict access to NATO headquarters for Belarusian personnel based on an assessment of six security measures at headquarters,” said Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
According to a NATO official who spoke on condition of anonymity, five Belarusian envoys, including the ambassador, will no longer have privileged access to face-to-face meetings.
“They will still be able to enter, but only as visitors, with a day pass and escort,” he said.
Belarus is not a member of NATO, but since 1998. It has a diplomatic mission in the Alliance. The country is a member of the Euro-Atlantic Association Council, which oversees cooperation between member states and non-member states in the field of crisis management and arms control.
Monday’s decision is largely symbolic, but reflects outrage in western capitals over Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s decision to force a Ryanair plane to land from Athens to Vilnius in Minsk and detain an activist from the opposition and his friend.
“We strongly condemn the forced landing of a civilian plane in Minsk. We call for an independent international investigation,” Stoltenberg said, welcoming the decision by some EU and NATO countries to impose sanctions on Minsk.
“We also make it clear that this is not only a violation of national norms, but also a direct attack on the freedom of expression of free and independent media,” Stoltenberg said.
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