GERMANY CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001175 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2018 TAGS: GM PREL PHUM RU GG PGOV BO SUBJECT: GERMANY CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT DEVELOPMENTS IN BELARUS Classified By: ACTING DCM JEFFREY RATHKE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier August 20 welcomed the release of Belarusian political prisoners Andrey Kim and Syarhey Parsyukevich and noted that Belarus had taken an important step towards improving relations with the EU. PolOffs met with MFA desk officer for Belarus, Thomas Freudenhammer, August 21 to hear more about the German perspective on recent developments in the country. Freudenhammer echoed Steinmeier's comments, but did not outline specific steps Germany planned to take in response to the release of the prisoners. He speculated that the timing of opposition leader Alexander Kozulin's release from prison might be linked to the recent Georgian-Russian conflict, which could have spurred Belarus to improve ties with the West. On the other hand, Freudenhammer also noted the more cynical possibility that President Lukashenko hoped the release would cause internal strife and weaken Belarus's opposition party in the run up to parliamentary elections on September 28. Although the release of these prisoners is an important first step, Freudenhammer noted that an important next step must be increased freedom for the Belarusian press. Overall, Freudenhammer stressed that while Germany welcomes the release of the political prisoners, it remains cautious about what Lukashenko's next steps will be. ¶2. (SBU) PolOffs emphasized that the United States remains gravely concerned about the treatment of and court proceedings concerning Emanuel Zeltser, an American citizen who was arrested in Belarus in March. Freudenhammer, while knowledgeable about Zeltser's case, only reiterated his understanding of the U.S. concern. TIMKEN JR