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AFP
Vilnius
Belarus’s EU neighbours Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are supporting a plan to mediate in the crisis that has followed a disputed presidential election there, Lithuania’s president said on Wednesday.
The plan outlined by President Gitanas Nauseda comes after three nights of violent clashes in Belarus between pro-democracy protesters and security forces.
Under the plan, Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko would have to create a “national council” bringing together government officials and civil society representative or face possible EU sanctions.
The authorities would also have to release all detained protesters and “halt the use of force against its citizens”, Nauseda told reporters.
“The three-point plan could become a prelude for the mediation of the region’s presidents in solving the political crisis in Belarus,” he said.
“Both the Latvian president and Polish president view this initiative favourably and would agree to mediate together with me in de-escalating this situation”.
EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the situation in Belarus in a video call on Friday.
Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since coming to power in 1994 and the country is often dubbed the “last dictatorship in Europe”.
The protests broke out after authorities said Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote in Sunday’s polls.
Vilnius
Belarus’s EU neighbours Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are supporting a plan to mediate in the crisis that has followed a disputed presidential election there, Lithuania’s president said on Wednesday.
The plan outlined by President Gitanas Nauseda comes after three nights of violent clashes in Belarus between pro-democracy protesters and security forces.
Under the plan, Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko would have to create a “national council” bringing together government officials and civil society representative or face possible EU sanctions.
The authorities would also have to release all detained protesters and “halt the use of force against its citizens”, Nauseda told reporters.
“The three-point plan could become a prelude for the mediation of the region’s presidents in solving the political crisis in Belarus,” he said.
“Both the Latvian president and Polish president view this initiative favourably and would agree to mediate together with me in de-escalating this situation”.
EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the situation in Belarus in a video call on Friday.
Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since coming to power in 1994 and the country is often dubbed the “last dictatorship in Europe”.
The protests broke out after authorities said Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote in Sunday’s polls.
