The number of European leaders held the phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Belarus as EU Observer reported.
Particularly, European Council president Charles Michel, French president Emmanuel Macron, and German chancellor Angela Merkel held talks before the EU summit on the crisis; however, after a week of protests against results of the elections in Belarus and victory of Alexander Lukashenko.
During the talks, the parties discussed ways to solve the crisis in Belarus peacefully, including OSCE participation.
Besides, it was underlined that the authorities of Belarus should start the dialogue with the Belarusian opposition and society to overcome the crisis.
Meanwhile, Kremlin stated that other parties should not interfere in the inner affairs of Belarus as it would cause the escalation of the conflict.
As we reported, candidate for the presidency in Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the European Union not to recognize the results of the elections in Belarus. She stated that the elections were unfair and their results are falsified.
Besides, the National coordination council of Belarus is supposed to be created by the Belarusian opposition. It is noted that 70 people would enter the council.
As we reported, the EU aims to impose new sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for the brutal crackdown in the ex-Soviet state. The top diplomats from the bloc's 27 member states met on August 14 to review former restrictions against Belarus party leadership that the EU removed in 2016, citing progress in improving the rule of law.
Later, Members of the European Parliament did not recognize the results of the presidential election in Belarus. They released a joint statement, according to which, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko is considered persona non grata in the EU.
