MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2020) German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Monday about her upcoming call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the post-election protests in Belarus.
"Angela Merkel informed the President about her scheduled call with the Russian President on Tuesday morning," the Lithuanian president's office said in a press release.
According to the press release, Berlin is currently trying as well to get in touch with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko "to settle the situation in Belarus."
Merkel thanked Lithuania for assistance to Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who exiled in Lithuania after claiming that she outdid Lukashenko in a presidential election on August 9, as stated in the press release.
"The two leaders also discussed possible support for consolidation of civil society," the press release read.
The call between Merkel and Nauseda was otherwise focused on the discussion of the upcoming European Council meeting on Wednesday that will discuss possible sanctions on Belarus.
Protests in Belarus have been ongoing since the government announced that Lukashenko win over 80 percent of the vote in the presidential election, while Tikhanovskaya won less than 10 percent. Tikhanovskaya, who according to her campaign's comment to Sputnik was forced to flee from the country, has refused to recognize the results, while people urged Lukashenko to step down.
During the first several days of protests, Belarusian police used force to disperse the protesters, firing tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets. More than 6,700 people were detained, according to the Belarusian Interior Ministry. There was one confirmed fatality so far during the protest in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, while hundreds of people � including more than 120 police officers � have sustained injuries.
Lithuania, along with Latvia, Estonia and Poland, have offered mediation services between Belarus' government and civil society.
