BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th August, 2020) The European Union urges the leadership of Belarus to start a dialogue with society in order to avoid the continuation of the violence that erupted after the presidential election, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We call on Belarusian political leadership to initiate a genuine and inclusive dialogue with broader society to avoid further violence. The EU will continue to support a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous and stable Belarus," Borrell said in a statement on behalf of the EU.
The EU has been closely following the development of the situation around the presidential elections in Belarus and does not consider them either free or fair, Borrell said.
"State authorities deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence causing at least one death and many injuries. Thousands of people were detained and the crackdown on freedoms of assembly, media and expression intensified. We call on the Belarusian authorities to release immediately and unconditionally all detained," he said.
The EU will assess the actions of Belarusian authorities to respond to the current situation and conduct an thorough review of the bloc's relations with Minsk, Borrell said.
"This may include, inter alia, taking measures against those responsible for the observed violence, unjustified arrests, and falsification of election results," he said.
