Elections in Belarus: Hungary blocks EU statement

Hungarian representatives on Sunday, January 26, blocked the European Union’s joint statement on the non-recognition of the presidential election in Belarus, Radio Liberty reports with reference to sources in Brussels.

Before this, the Belarusian Radio Liberty Service reported that Hungary and Slovakia refused to sign a draft statement on behalf of 27 of the European Union. However, representatives of Slovakia agreed to support the appeal, and Hungary remained alone among the EU members who refused to sign the statement.

Without the signatures of the representatives of all 27 EU countries, the highest EU for foreign affairs of Kai Callas, together with the European Commissioner on enlargement issues of Marta Kos, issued his own statement, in which they stressed that the vote was not free or fair, and called on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, “including an EU representative office,” and also authorized new sanctions against Belarus.

“The fictitious elections in Belarus are not free or fair. The people of Belarus deserve a real vote to make their country a leader. Ruthless and unprecedented human rights violations, which restrict participation in political life and access to independent media in Belarus that the Electoral process has been deprived of any legitimacy,” the joint statement said.

The publication adds that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto is the only representative of the leadership of European Union countries who regularly visits Minsk.

Recall that in Belarus on Sunday, a vote in the presidential election took place. According to Eccitpol, Alexander Lukashenko got 87.6% of the vote.

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