Belarus will refrain from inviting OSCE observers to the upcoming elections. This was stated by the post representative of our country to international organizations in Vienna, Andrei Dapkiunas. According to him, the Belarusian side has notified the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of its intention not to invite observers and presented its arguments and motivation.
Andrei Dapkiunas, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE:
“What are the reasons for the decision of the Belarusian authorities? First of all, it is the state of the OSCE election observation system. It is characterized by certain geographical functional distortions. The second important reason is the decision taken by the Belarusian authorities. This is the well-known atmosphere of interstate interaction in the OSCE area. In the last 3-4 years, the degradation of the atmosphere of interstate interaction both bilaterally and within the organization has reached a critical point. In practice, this manifests itself in an acute crisis of confidence and in the violation of the traditions of respectful and diplomatically correct dialog. It is also manifested in the growing hostility and ostracism in relations between States. All this, unfortunately, casts doubt on the possibility of traditional duty performance by the OSCE Member States of their commitments within the framework of the organization.”
