Hungary only EU country not to sign OSCE report criticising Belarus

Hungary is the only EU member state not to have backed a report that drew attention to the "politically motivated repression" of the Minsk regime and the large number of political prisoners, Radio Free Europe reports.

The report, compiled by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was supported by all the other member states.

In response to Telex's query on the reason for staying out, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry wrote on Thursday:

'In times of war, the European Union should concentrate all its efforts on bringing peace to the community's neighbourhood as soon as possible. Political statements such as this one make it impossible to open the channels of communication that are essential for peace talks to begin, and thus only remove the hope of peace.'

The report concludes that Belarus is in serious violation of human rights and is not fulfilling the commitments it has committed to within the OSCE framework. The text underlines that the Belarusian regime has repressed protests and obstructed political organisations.

The text was written by Hervé Ascensio, who presented the report at the OSCE's regular meeting on Thursday. Ascensio was not allowed to enter the country, and Belarus refused to cooperate in any way with the preparation of the report.

The report may be read in English here.