English

Foreign ministry defends closure of OSCE Office in Minsk

Belarus made the right decision not to extend the mandate of the OSCE Office in Minsk, Andrey Savinykh, spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, told reporters on October 3.

The OSCE mission was closed down because it had already fulfilled its mandate and time has proved that the decision was right, Mr. Savinykh said.

He noted that the closure of the Office had helped the OSCE save money and spend more on its programs, BelaPAN said.

When the OSCE mission was being closed down, the Belarusian authorities expressed certainty that it would not affect their contacts with the organization and joint projects would be easy to coordinate "through direct contacts with the organization's headquarters in Vienna, using diplomatic channels," Mr. Savinykh said, adding that time had proved Minsk right.

Mr. Savinykh denied that OSCE election observers had discussed the possible reopening of the Office with Belarusian government officials during their visit to Belarus to monitor September's House of Representatives elections. "Issues of the OSCE institutional development do not fall within the competence of election observers, that's why no official discussions were held on these subjects," he said.

The OSCE Office in Minsk closed down on March 31, 2011. The Belarusian authorities decided on December 31, 2010 to halt the operation of the OSCE Office.

The OSCE Office in Minsk was formally opened on January 1, 2003, after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the OSCE and the Belarusian government. The Office’s mandate covered institution building, enhancing the rule of law, developing relations with civic society in line with OSCE principles and commitments, and assisting the government in its economic and environmental protection efforts.