Belarus Foreign Minister Mikhail Khvostov said on Thursday he was confident the international community would recognize his country's weekend presidential elections despite fresh US criticism.
"They will certainly be recognized because they will express the will of the Belarussian people," the minister told a press conference.
For the third time in two weeks, the United States Wednesday criticized the government of Belarus and its authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, saying it was "impossible" to believe Minsk's claim that weekend presidential elections would be free and fair.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher recalled allegations of possible government involvement in the disappearances of opposition figures and crackdowns on the press.
"Such incidents make it impossible, today, to credit the Belarussian government's claim that it will conduct a legitimate election that meets international standards," Boucher said in a statement.
But Khvostov hit back at the United States, accusing it of "fuelling tensions" and insisted: "This should not affect the electoral process."
He said he was "persuaded" that Lukashenko will win the first round, adding that he was speaking as "a private citizen." -- MINSK (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
