Guido Westerwelle: “Belarus needs free and fair election”

Süddeutsche Zeitung has published an interview with the Foreign Minister of Germany ahead of his visit to Moscow and Minsk.

The reporter of the newspaper, Daniel Broessler, had prepared a few thorny questions fort the minister, for instance, whether he shares the opinion that the trial over Mikhail Khodorkovsky is a political trial.

Westerwelle answered diplomatically. “Democracy and human rights,” he said, “are standing dishes during my visits to Russia.” Beside official conversations, a meeting with representatives of the civil society and opposition is figuring in the plans of the minister.

The diplomat hesitated to judge Russia’s distance form a law-governed state: “It cannot be judged in metres or centimetres.” However, he underlined that the strategic partnership includes not only economic interest, but a system of values as well.

The minister has expressed his opinion about the European security architecture initiated by Russian President Medvedev. He regards this initiative as “a will to joint activities” and welcomes it for that reason.

Guido Westerwelle also plans a visit to Belarus. He will visit Belarus together with his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski.

A presidential election is to take place in Belarus soon. The minister has stated that “Belarus needs free and fair election”. He underlined that the West is not interfering in the election campaign, but conveys “an unambiguous political message”: Europe “cannot stay indifferent to the repressions by the state in the run-up to the election.” Mr. Westerwelle has also reminded that “a transparent electoral contest” demands in particular “free access to the mass media for parties and representatives of the civil society.”