Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Conservative) on Monday, 1 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 November 2004. It was answered by Denis MacShane (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 November 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the British Government recognises the legitimacy of the recent elections in Belarus.

Answer: Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British Government recognises the legitimacy of the recent elections in Belarus. [196167] Mr. MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the declaration on the conduct of the election and referendum in Belarus issued by the EU on 20 October. We fully support this declaration. We are deeply concerned about the issues raised in the preliminary findings and conclusions of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) International Election Observation Mission (IEOM). We will assess the conclusions of the OSCE IEOM's final report when this is published, and will press Belarus to implement any recommendations. The full text of the EU declaration is available on the Presidency's website at http://www.eu2004.nl.

Secondary information