Berlin distances itself from Bavarian far-right MP ahead of his Minsk visit

April 2, Pozirk. Germany strongly condemns systemic reprisals in Belarus, including last year’s parliamentary election held in an atmosphere of fear, a German foreign ministry official told Pozirk in a comment on a Minsk visit by Ulrich Singer, a politician from the far-right AfD.

Tomorrow, Belarusian MPs are expected to meet Singer, a member of the Bavarian State Parliament (Landtag) since 2018, according to the House of Representatives’ website.

However, the German diplomat noted that these Belarusian MPs were elected in an electoral process that was neither free nor fair. All independent Belarusian political parties and candidates were denied registration to participate, while Minsk did not invite observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, contrary to its international obligations, the diplomat added.

A serious deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus, along with Minsk’s support of Russia’s war on Ukraine, seriously affected bilateral relations with Germany, the source said. These developments forced Berlin to limit contacts and cooperation with government agencies in Belarus to a minimum, the diplomat said.

Berlin and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials and entities with the most recent package adopted last week. The recent restrictions targeted the agricultural company Cybulka-Bieł, among others. Earlier, the media linked Cybulka-Bieł to AfD politician Jörg Dornau, suspected of using Belarusian political prisoners’ labor.

The foreign ministry did not directly condemn Singer’s visit to Minsk as members of the federal state parliaments are politically independent.

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