Barroso, Solana en Borrell ontmoeten Wit-Russische presidentskandidaat Milinkevich aan vooravond verkiezingen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Belarus opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich will get an awkward but top level reception in Brussels next week, with Minsk fuming that the EU is taking sides before the country's presidential elections on 19 March.

The 58-year old physicist will between Monday (30 January) and Wednesday meet with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso i, EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana i and MEP leaders Josep Borrell, Hans-Gert Pottering and Graham Watson.

Lithuanian diplomats have also arranged a room to be set aside for chats with interested member states on the fringes of an EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday.

In contrast, six senior Belarusian government officials currently face a travel ban to the EU for alleged human rights violations, while most member states refuse to meet with Minsk authorities at minister level or above.

The European Commission is playing down the importance of the trip, with external relations spokeswoman Emma Udwin saying "This is just to discuss the situation in Belarus. It is not intended to interfere in the elections. It is not a campaigning meeting."

EU diplomats under Mr Solana indicated "the man is in town, he wants to meet, what are we to do, refuse him?" while admitting the pre-election timing is "awkward" for the external relations chief.

Some Polish politicians see the visit as a campaigning triumph however.

"The bare fact that he is meeting with the VIPs, this warm reception is a huge political sign. It shows the EU believes that the Belarusian democratic and free market movement has a realistic future," Polish conservative MEP Bogdan Klich indicated.

He also expressed fears Mr Milinkevich might not be allowed back into Belarus after the Brussels visit.

Minsk lashes out

Minsk also sees the trip as a clear political manoeuvre, saying it could damage EU-Belarus relations and calling into question the EU's integrity as an election monitor.

"If this is true, it proves once again the truly biassed opinion of the EU toward Belarus. The EU is clearly acting in favour of the opposition," a Belarus diplomat told EUobserver.

"In this case, one can even doubt the sincerity of the EU's analysis of the election results if the result is something other than what the EU expects," he added.

The contact said any worries Mr Milinkevich might not be allowed back home from Brussels are "absurd" and "designed to paint a grim image of our country."

Foretaste of Brussels visit?

Meanwhile, Warsaw showed no qualms about hosting Mr Milinkevich today (25 January), with the Belarusian flag flying in the Polish parliament and members greeting his speech with noisy applause, PAP reports.

"We don't want a revolution. We want transparent elections in line with the constitution. If the authorities don't guarantee this, I think people will come out on the streets," the Belarusian opposition leader indicated.

He added that the EU is portrayed in Belarus media as a sink of capitalistic excess, awash with homeless beggars and with people killing each other in broad daylight.

But western analysts do not share his optimism about Belarusian people's readiness to come out on the streets in March, with EU estimates placing his current level of support at 20-25 percent compared to president Alexander Lukashenko's 60 percent.

Some EU diplomats even fear Mr Milinkevich could "mysteriously" step out of the presidential race in the run up to 19 March.

And one official said nothing short of an "Iraq-style regime change" can shift the current government.