Q Scott, the President, apparently, in the last couple of days, sent a letter to Congress relating to, among other things, the situation in Belarus as we're approaching the election. I was wondering if you could comment, what is the White House attitude if Lukashenka, indeed, does win the election, what position would the U.S. take, and what does the President --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, our policy on Belarus has been spelled out. We are very concerned about the behavior of the leaders in Belarus. They are not pursuing a democratic course. We support the advance of democracy in Belarus. And the report you bring up was sent to Congress. I think there are some unclassified and classified portions of it. But we spelled out some of the concerns when it comes to Belarus, and we continue to stand with the people of Belarus who want to live in freedom. This is one country in a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace, that has moved in the opposite direction of democracy and freedom. And so the report relates specifically to an act that was passed previously on Belarus. MR. McCLELLAN: But, I mean, you have reports that the government has cracked down on political opponents and jailed some of the opposition. We are deeply concerned about those reports. We're deeply concerned about the direction of the government of Belarus and their lack of moving in a democratic direction.

seen at 12:54, 17 March in Whitehouse Press Briefings. Email this to a friend.
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