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Germany has
admitted that in 2008-10 it trained members of the security forces of Belarus -
the country branded by the West as Europe's "last dictatorship".
The
government in Berlin said it had believed at the time that Minsk was committed
to "a process of democracy".
But it said
the co-operation was halted after President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected
in 2010, amid claims that the poll was rigged.
Earlier, a
German newspaper said the training continued until 2011.
The
Tagesspiegel daily reported that Belarus' security forces accompanied German
police as observers during an anti-nuclear demonstration in Germany in 2010.
It also
said that German officials also travelled to Belarus to train some 400 local
border guards.
'Total
freeze'
 |
| Mr Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 |
"The
German government intensified its dialogue with the Belarusian government
between 2008 and 2010," German Interior Ministry spokesman Philipp
Spauschus told reporters on Friday.
He said it
was "because there were signs that Minsk was ready to implement democratic
reforms and conform to rule of law.
But the
spokesman said that - contrary to the Tagesspiegel's report - the
"co-operation with the Belarusian government was largely reduced, leading
to a total freeze" after the 2010 election in the former Soviet republic.
Mr
Lukashenko won his fourth consecutive term in the election, which was described
by the West as a charade.
Mr
Lukashenko was also accused of persecuting his political opponents - a claim he
denied.
More than
600 people - including four opposition candidates - were detained after the
poll, amid street protests.
Earlier
this year, the European Union extended its blacklist of Belarusian officials,
adding 21 names to the list, which already included more than 160 individuals.
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