The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday has urged the Belarusian authorities to stop using force against protesters, adding that the bloc's foreign ministers will meet on Friday to discuss the potential of levying sanctions on Minsk
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday has urged the Belarusian authorities to stop using force against protesters, adding that the bloc's foreign ministers will meet on Friday to discuss the potential of levying sanctions on Minsk.
"Otherwise, we will have to reconsider our relations with Belarus and eventually take sanctions against those responsible for the violence, arbitrary arrests and falsification of election results. We will discuss this issue on Friday the 14th during the extraordinary Foreign Affair Council that I have summoned," Borrell wrote in a blog post.
Reiterating a statement made on Tuesday, Borrell called on Minsk to prevent force being used against protesters and to release all those who have been detained in the demonstrations to date.
"We call strongly on the Belarusian authorities to put an end to the violence, to release all arbitrarily detained persons and to return without delay to the path of proper democratic and pluralist behaviour by opening dialogue with society," Borrell wrote.
Widespread protests broke out in Belarus following Sunday's presidential election, which saw incumbent Alexander Lukashenko secure more than 80 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission's preliminary results.
Individual EU member states have called on the bloc to take tough action against Belarus, following numerous days of protests that have resulted in thousands of people being detained by the country's security forces and police.
