Belarus MFA invites about 30 observers from EU countries

Belarus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited about 30 international observers from the EU countries to monitor the referendum on the constitutional amendments in Belarus, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said on the air of the Belarus 1TV channel, BelTA has learned.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited about 30 individuals representing the countries of the European Union. Those are the people who have expressed a desire to participate in the observation of the referendum. We are open in this regard; we believe that the people who come to Belarus to observe the event will be as objective as possible in their assessments. The same cannot be said about some other structures operating, for example, under the auspices of the OSCE," the minister said.

When asked how to respond to the attacks by a number of European partners who have declared they will not recognize the referendum in any case, Vladimir Makei: "We need to respond to such attacks calmly. We are holding the referendum in the interest of the people and for the people. We are conducting it in accordance with our national legislation."

"The assessments given by our Western partners are absolutely biased, politicized. Therefore, they should be ignored. That's what we're doing," the minister said.

He noted that it was one of the reasons why Belarus made a decision not to invite observers from the OSCE/ODIHR. "Although there was such an initiative, we discussed it. But this structure did not express much interest in observing the referendum in Belarus. So we will work with those who are ready to work with us," Vladimir Makei said.