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G7 call concerning Belarus is inadmissible attempt to impose foreign will - diplomat

G7 foreign ministers called on Minsk to release everyone detained "over the expression of their democratic aspirations," and "end the continued suppression of human rights and basic freedoms."

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. The Group of Seven call for new, internationally monitored presidential elections in Belarus is seen as an inadmissible attempt to impose foreign will on an independent and sovereign state, State Secretary of the Russia-Belarus Union State Dmitry Mezentsev said on Sunday.

"The Belarusian people has already responded to such calls from the West having voted for the incumbent president [Alexander Lukashenko] and giving him the right to continue as the country’s leader. It is inadmissible to impose the will of just one country, which is seeking to build a unipolar world, either on Russia, or on Belarus, or anybody else. In a sense, it would mean a retreat and betrayal of those soldiers who did not spare themselves, their lives to bring peace to the peoples of the Soviet Union and Europe back in 1945," he said.

On May 5, G7 foreign ministers issued a statement after their meeting in London. In particular, they called on Minsk to release everyone detained "over the expression of their democratic aspirations," and "end the continued suppression of human rights and basic freedoms."

According to the document, the Belarusian government should "implement the recommendations of the OSCE independent expert mission," which advocated the repeat presidential elections. The G7 also urged Minsk "to engage in substantial dialogue with all members of the society, including the true leaders of the opposition, and accept the OSCE Chairman’s offer of mediation for resolution of the political crisis.".