EU responded negatively and frostily to the results of the parliamentary elections in Belarus

Following the results of the Belarusian parliamentary elections, the EU External Action Service issued a statement noting that the elections “were generally calm. However, they have become a missed opportunity to hold elections in full compliance with international standards”.

The statement also referred to as the negative assessment by the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. That said, the EU statement has neither put forward any demands nor openly condemned the Belarusian authorities. It is noteworthy that sovereignty was added to the standard formula referring to the support for a stable, democratic and prosperous future for Belarus.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry refrained from commenting on the EU statement, but responded negatively to OSCE assessments, calling them biased and politicized and saying that “if election procedures and legislation were to be improved, it would be not due to somebody’s demands, but following a request of our society and evolutionarily”.

Last week, the visits of Foreign Ministers of Finland and Sweden to Belarus were announced to take place on November 25^th. The visits have been coordinated long in advance, however, the fact that they would take place immediately after the parliamentary elections, which caused disappointment in the West, adds symbolism, and may be interpreted as support for further normalization with Belarus.