Brussels, 05/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, speaking on the sidelines of the European Council on 1-2 March, called on the European Union to review its policy of sanctions against Belarus. “Politically and economically, it pushes Belarus towards Russia and takes it away from any Western influence”, she told AFP. “For a neighbour, this is hard to bear”, she added. On Tuesday 28 February, the EU adopted further sanctions and could impose still more at the end of March, EU ambassadors to Belarus have pointed out. Grybauskaite said that European sanctions had not brought any change in the policies pursued by Alexander Lukashenko and that they only affected “second tier” political leaders, left the people of the country “isolated” and damaged trade with bordering countries. “It is very fashionable to talk of sanctions, but these mainly affect the ordinary people”, she went on to say. (CG/transl.rt)