BERLIN — Germany's Foreign Ministry says it has summoned the Belarusian ambassador to protest the country's refusal to issue visas for election observers and journalists ahead of a parliamentary election.
The
ministry said it told Ambassador Andrei Giro on Thursday that
limitations to the freedom of the press and visa denials ahead of the
election contribute to sending a “negative signal.”
Sunday’s vote
in Belarus is expected to elect what is essentially a rubber-stamp
parliament, with most power remaining in the hands of authoritarian
President Alexander Lukashenko.
