President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy issued a statement on the EU's Eastern Partnership.

“Although recent developments concentrated our political attention to the South, we certainly cannot afford to forget about the Union's Eastern neighborhood. Later this year we will have a summit with our Eastern Partners.

We need to make sure that this partnership, launched here in Prague two years ago, gains new momentum and focuses on strategic issues as well, such as democracy, good governance, and progress in some of the unresolved conflicts.

We must note aisle forget about mutual commitments made on the respect for the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

The European Council expressed its particular concern a few weeks ago on the situation in Belarus.

The Eastern Partnership would provide us with the best tool to strengthen our engagement with Belarusian civil society.

At the same time we can maintain our policy of critical and conditional engagement with the Government. It is this kind of approach that provides the EU with the best chances of promoting its political priorities,” the statement said.