The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has snubbed an attempt by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to mediate in the current political crisis in Belarus.
On Thursday (20 August) Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama upon the initiative of the Albanian side.
A statement posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that "Developments in Belarus were discussed in the context of the Albanian OSCE chairmanship's proposals to facilitate a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition. The minister noted that it was necessary to give the Belarusians a chance to resolve their issues themselves without interference in a dialogue between the authorities and society or imposing anything from the outside as well as to avoid the tragic experience of 'European mediation' in Ukraine in February 2014."
Earlier, the current Albanian Chairmanship of the the 57 member state European security organisation, together with Sweden, who takes over the chairmanship in January, had offered to travel to Belarus to mediate in the current impasse between government and opposition following flawed presidential elections.
source: commonspace.eu with the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
photo: Sergei Lavrov and Edi Rama (Photo montage on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry)
