As of: 30.06.2021 9:34 p.m.
Under pressure from the authorities in Belarus, the Goethe-Institut and the German Academic Exchange Service have to stop their work in the country. The background is the sanctions that the EU issued last week.
The Belarusian government is calling for all activities of the Goethe Institute and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to cease in the country. The Foreign Office announced. The background is therefore the sanctions of the European Union against the ex-Soviet republic.
“We regret the decision of the Belarusian side,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. “This step will help to isolate Belarus further internationally.” The people in Belarus who suffer further opportunities for social and cultural activity are the ones who suffer. The work of the two institutions brought Germany and Belarus “closer to one another on a social and cultural level”. The federal government will continue to work to maintain cultural and social cooperation between the two countries.
Sanctions for forced airplane landing
Last week, the EU put in place extensive economic sanctions against Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair plane and the suppression of the opposition. The blogger Roman Protassewitsch, who was critical of the government, was arrested when the plane landed in Minsk at the end of May.
Belarus suspended participation in the EU’s Eastern Partnership program on Monday in protest against EU sanctions. In addition, the country withdrew its representative from the EU for consultations and called on the Union to withdraw its representative Dirk Schuebel for the time being.