Austrian Foreign Minister Describes Situation In Belarus As Dropping Of 'Iron Curtain'

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2020) Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg on Thursday talked about an alleged "iron curtain" currently being drawn in Belarus in his statement at the plenary session of the 27th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The minister went so far as to describe the situation in the country as a "drama of politics and democracy."

"The report presented by the Moscow Mechanism detects systematic human rights violations, it is stated there in black and white. In essence, a new iron curtain is being established here. However, people in Belarus deserve that their voice is heard, they deserve to be included in an inclusive national dialogue, they have to be capable of determining their own political future within free and fair elections," Schallenberg said.

The relations between Minsk and the West has been strained in the wake of the August 9 presidential election, won by Lukashenko for the sixth time in a row, but contested by the country's opposition, which claims that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was the real winner. The dispute resulted in mass protests across the country. Several Western countries, including the United States and the European Union, have slapped sanctions on Belarusian officials deemed responsible for alleged electoral fraud and protest suppression.