Martynau: “Situation with human rights in Belarus is none the worse EU countries”

Belarusian Foreign Minister Syarhei Martynau has made a startling statement summing up the results of the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Samuel Zbogar on June 8.

“Belarus has undertaken a number of significant steps to modernize the society. However, these efforts are made not to please the European Union or the Council of Europe. The steps that we take are necessitated by the needs of our own society’s development,” the Belarusian Foreign Minister said.

“We believe that human rights record and the development of democracy in Belarus are just as good as in the neighbouring states and in many EU countries. I think if our parliament were to prepare a report on human rights record in other countries, they could definitely find fault with something,” Syarhei Martynau said.

He added that Belarus will remain committed to the modernization of the society, “but the movement towards modernization will be determined by the needs of our society.” “Of course, we will discuss this matter with our neighbours, the European Union and the Council of Europe,” the Belarusian Foreign Minister said.