EU Stands In Solidarity With Belarusian Athlete Timanovskaya - Spokesperson

The European Union stands in solidarity with Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya and welcomes the assistance offered to her by the bloc's countries, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Nabila Massrali told Sputnik

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2021) The European Union stands in solidarity with Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya and welcomes the assistance offered to her by the bloc's countries, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Nabila Massrali told Sputnik.

Earlier it was reported that Timanovskaya had received a humanitarian visa from Poland. On Monday morning, Clement Beaune, the secretary of state for European affairs at the French Foreign Ministry, said that the EU would consider the possibility of granting political asylum to Timanovskaya, who refused to return to her homeland.

"We express our complete solidarity with Kristina Timanovskaya, we welcome offers of assistance from a number of EU member states. We welcome the fact that she was able to obtain a humanitarian visa from Poland," Massrali said.

The EU believes that the situation around Timanovskaya will allow her to receive political asylum in the European Union, she said.

"The national authorities decide whether to recognize refugee status or to grant another form of international protection, but we believe that there are all the conditions for making such a decision in such a situation," the spokesperson said.

The EU considers the attempt of "forcible" return of Timanovskaya to Belarus "another example of the repression of the Lukashenko regime," Massrali said.

"There is no Olympic truce for Belarus," she said.