The Belarusian foreign ministry condemns an Internet-circulated video related to the family of the Hungarian ambassador in Minsk, spokesman Andrey Savinykh told reporters on Thursday.
The video, which was uploaded on Russian YouTube clone RuTube earlier this month, implies that the wife of Hungarian Ambassador Ferenc Kontra has an affair with an Italian man.
“The Belarusian side has nothing to do with this incident,” Mr. Savinykh said. “We condemn the actions of the authors and masterminds of this video whoever they may be, whatever ends they may pursue and wherever they may be based geographically.”
An interference in the private life of public servants is unacceptable and violates human rights, Mr. Savinykh said.
The spokesman dismissed as unfounded Mr. Kontra’s Thursday statement that Belarus’ special services were seeking to impose pressure on foreign diplomats.
Belarus has always complied with every condition for the stay of foreign diplomats that is specified in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Mr. Savinykh said.
“I want to underline that the Vienna Convention demands respect from diplomats for regulations of the country of stay,” he said. “If this demand is met, respect for the rights of the diplomat is guaranteed.”
Commenting Wednesday on the footage, Mr. Kontra stressed that the entire incident "concerns only my wife and me and we have discussed this subject." "My wife is an adult person who has the right to meet anyone, at any time and under any circumstances. This is no one`s business," he said.
Mr. Kontra said that he would like to get answers to some questions. "Say, please, who in Belarus has an opportunity to spy on a diplomat for several months, film his actions in the street, in a restaurant, in a private apartment with a hidden camera day and night? Who in Belarus has an opportunity to wiretap diplomats` mobile phone conversations? And who has the means and personnel to follow a diplomat abroad and film him in an airport with a hidden camera? Who benefits from all this?"
In a statement released earlier this month, the Hungarian foreign ministry condemned the footage as a serious and blatant provocation directed against Hungary’s diplomatic presence and work in Minsk.
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