Ferrero-Waldner: Belarus seriously affected by crisis

"Belarus was seriously hit by the consecuences of the financial and economic crisis. After Belarus' economy displayed a 10-percent growth in 2008, indeed, a significant recession is expected today, and it will be accompanied by production slowdown and the problems with payments balance", Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner in charge of EU's external relations and neighborhood policy said in an interview with the Russian web-based newspaper Gazeta.ru .

She noted that the European Union fully supports a deal between IMF and Belarus that should help stabilize the situation and lead to significant structural reforms.

"We are also considering all the possibilities for an additional assistance that we could offer. For example, we together with IMF, World Bank, European Investment Bank and EBRD want to provide economic support to the Belarusian government aiming at the further economic liberalization", the Commissioner added.