The Belarus opposition Charter 97 website has said that Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) and the autocratic President Alexandr Lukashenko are “twin souls”.
According to the website, Stubb, who visited Belarus in his capacity as Chairman of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), saw many positive developments in Belarus, a country which is often referred to as Europe’s last dictatorship.
“It seems he takes cheated elections and a preliminary list of MPs as steps in right direction”, the online article says. It goes on to say that arrests and beatings of those taking part in boycott campaigns were considered “improvements”.
The opposition publication expresses “admiration” for Stubb’s ability to see things in Belarus that not even the local citizens or international election monitors were not able to notice.
International observers monitoring the Parliamentary elections in Belarus in September this year said that the vote was unfair and undemocratic. During his visit, Stubb said that there had been progress compared with the previous elections.
Stubb’s statement inspired Lukashenko himself to praise his new friend:
“Thanks to those words we would be ready to name you OSCE Chairman for life” President Lukashenko had said.
