MINSK, 6 May (BelTA) - The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affair commented on the communique adopted by the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers following their meeting in London on 6 May. The statement of Spokesman for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Glaz has been published on the ministry's website, BelTA has learned.
The G7 foreign and development ministers mention Belarus in their communique. In particular, they call on Belarus to hold "new, free and fair election under international supervision" and "to enter into meaningful dialogue with all sectors of society, including genuine leaders of the opposition and civil society."
Anatoly Glaz cited one of the articles in The Guardian that analyzes the findings of a poll commissioned by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation run by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The poll was conducted in February - April among 50,000 respondents in 53 countries. Nearly half of respondents in the 53 countries surveyed are concerned that the US threatens democracy in their country. One of the conclusions that the newspaper makes is that "the findings show neither the US, nor the G7, can simply assume the mantle of defenders of democracy.”
"It would be very good if this simple truth finally reached the G7 members. As for the paragraph about Belarus… It is a standard set of hoary cliche. Such mantras roam, virtually unchanged, from one international organization into another demonstrating unfortunately, a deep misunderstanding and the unwillingness to understand the situation in our country, anti-Belarusian bias of their authors. This rhetoric makes it clear where some ‘genuine leaders of the opposition' have come from. They have failed to appoint ‘genuine government'. So now they are trying to verbally legitimize at least a convenient opposition,” Anatoly Glaz noted.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the calls for new elections as direct pressure on the country. "Those familiar with International Relations 101 know that any interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states runs contrary to the fundamental norms and principles of international law. We are a sovereign state, so we will decide when and what electoral campaigns to conduct in our country. To do this, we do not need any calls or instructions from the outside. As another 101, I would like to note that all elections in our country have been held under international supervision. Well, if some international organizations were unable to organize their work in our country, though they had our invitation, then they should not try to shift the blame,” Anatoly Glaz noted.
