Greece ban Belarus sports minister

Greece announced on Friday it was barring the Belarus sports minister from the Olympic Games after the European Union raised his alleged links with human rights abuses, triggering outrage in Minsk. "He (Yuri Sivakov) won't be allowed to enter the country. Greece is in perfect solidarity with its European partners," Greek government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros told AFP. The Dutch presidency of the 25-member European Union - which includes Greece - said Sivakov's attendance at the Games would be "completely inappropriate". It said Sivakov, then interior minister, had been implicated in the disappearance of four opponents to Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic president of the former Soviet republic. Belarus reacted angrily to the decision. "We are outraged at attempts to use the games in Athens - the cradle of the Olympics - as an arena for political games," the foreign ministry said. It said the decision was "counterproductive and will not help restore our relations with the European Union. Lukashenko, who is also president of the national Olympic committee in Belarus, appointed Sivakov as sports minister in January with orders to bring back at least 25 gold medals from Athens.