In a statement issued on March 14 the Georgian Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern over the decision of the Belarus government to bar representatives of several states, including Georgia, to observe upcoming presidential elections in Belarus.

“The Georgian Foreign Ministry believes that such decision of the Belarus government does not accord with the universally declared democratic principles of UN, OSCE and other international organizations and presents an open defiance of the principle of transparent, free and fair elections,” the statement reads.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry calls upon the international community to give due assessment to such acts of the Belarus government, “which raise serious doubts about the democratic character of the forthcoming elections and the legitimacy of the election results.”

The Georgian Parliamentary Committees for Foreign Relations, European Integration and Defense and Security issued a joint statement on March 10 regarding the pre-election situation in Belarus, in which they condemned barring of Georgian observers from participating in the forthcoming presidential elections by “Lukashenko’s  dictatorial regime.”