Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hopes that the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus will not force voters to choose between the pro-Russia or pro-Western orientation of their country. "We really do not want a repetition of the situation, happened six years ago, when the Ukrainians were made to decide in the run-up to the elections whether they're with Europe or with Russia," Sergei Lavrov said.
«There is every reason to believe that there won’t be such a slogan this time. Above all, it is explained by the absence of differences in Europe and Russia in regard to the development and prosperity objectives of our common space,» the Russian minister said, RIA Novosti news agency.
Sergei Lavrov also expressed the hope that elections would be held fairly and freely in Belarus, recalling that Minsk had invited foreign observers.
In turn, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed a desire for the elections in Belarus to be better than the previous ones.»
«As this is a European state, it would be preferable for the country to implement European standards, including the standards of purity and transparency of presidential elections,» the Foreign Minister of Poland stated.
