BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/09/2008

Foreign Ministry of Lithuania: dialogue between EU and Belarus is necessary in any case

Petras Vaida, BC, Vilnius

Although the parliamentary elections in Belarus on Sunday were not democratic and led to no changes in the situation in the country, yet the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry stated that the dialogue between the European Union (EU) and Belarus was necessary "in any case".

As reported, the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that the parliamentary elections in Belarus were not held in a free and democratic way. The observers of the elections indicated a slight progress; however, the authorities of Belarus did not keep its promise to hold a transparent voting. The EU earlier said that if the parliamentary elections in Belarus were recognized as fair, it would cancel the sanctions imposed on Minsk, informed BC Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

Violeta Gaizauskaite, head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Foreign Ministry, admitted that the elections in Belarus barely differed from the previously held ones. However, according to the official, the existence of dialogue is still essential.

"From the perspective of Lithuania, the dialogue between the EU and Belarus is necessary in any case. It is required by the objective needs of neighborhood, especially when we consider the situation after the recent events in South Caucasus, which causes serious concern over the long-term security and stability in Eastern Europe," Gaizauskaite told ELTA.

According to preliminary data, no seats in the parliament of Belarus were won by the representative of opposition.

Source:

http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltics_cis/?doc=5624

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