Belarus tells West: recognize vote, or no talks

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus will cease all dialogue with Western countries if they fail to recognize the ex-Soviet state's parliamentary election, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday.


Lukashenko has staked his hopes on the September 28 vote as a way to improve ties with the United States and European Union, which see it as a test of Belarus's democratic credentials.

No poll in Belarus since the mid-1990s has been judged free and fair in the West. Most opposition hopefuls have been allowed on the ballot this time and hundreds of Western observers are attending.

But opposition officials say they have been denied access to commissions overseeing the count and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says the campaign has failed to give voters a clear idea of issues or candidates.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080920/wl_nm/belarus_election_dc;_

[dipsydoodle]

1. Oh.

The USA's favoured administration in those parts is Azerbaijan, for the obvious reason of oil, which has already got the most bent democraticly elected government. Second next to Georgia I think.

At least Belarus hasn't thown the observors out, yet , which is more than can be said for what Ajerbaijan last time round.