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“We cannot call Mr. Lukashenko legitimate because there were no free democratic elections in Belarus,” Nauseda told Sky News.
According to the representatives of the presidency, G. Nausėda granted this interview on Thursday.
The president warned that only by passively monitoring the situation in the West could Russia try to “fully integrate” Belarus.
“Russia is interested in having a satellite state. Belarus would probably be fully integrated into Russia if we only passively monitor this process,” said G. Nausėda.
According to him, the interest of the European Union is “a stable, democratic and sovereign Belarus”.
Nausėda this week offered to mediate in the resolution of the crisis in Belarus together with the presidents of Poland, Latvia and Estonia. According to him, if this initiative fails, sanctions will have to be considered.
EU foreign ministers will discuss possible sanctions against those responsible for the violence against protesters and electoral fraud on Friday afternoon.
The plan has been delivered to Belarus.
President Gitan Nauseda met with representatives of Belarusian civil society organizations on Thursday. Representatives of the presidency assured that the plan proposed by G. Naus resolverda to resolve the crisis in Belarus has been handed over to the government of the neighboring country and a response is expected. It is not ruled out that, in the absence of a reaction from the Alexander Lukashenko government, Lithuania may impose sanctions on Belarus.
On Wednesday, the head of state announced a three-point plan to start talks with Belarus. According to the head of state, if this does not help, sanctions can be imposed.
PHOTO GALLERY. Seduced by discussion with Belarus: announced a 3-measure plan
First – The Belarusian authorities put an end to the use of force against its citizens and aggravate the situation.
Second – The Belarusian authorities are releasing thousands of detainees, all protesters who have been repressed.
The third point – Belarus is resuming dialogue with its civil society. An appropriate solution in this direction could be the formation of a kind of national council made up of representatives of the government and civil society. His duty and objective would be to find solutions and get out of the crisis.
After the meeting, Asta Skaisgirytė, Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the President, said that working with civil society in relations with Belarus occupies an important place.
“The natural expression of that is the president’s desire to meet and listen to those organizations. <...> At the end of the meeting, the President emphasized that all assistance to those organizations that need it to continue operating successfully will be provided to the extent possible, “said A. Skaisgirytė.
The President’s Advisor stated that the plan proposed by G. Nausėda had been discussed with the authorities of Latvia, Estonia and Poland, and the Presidents of these countries supported the initiative of the Lithuanian leader. According to A. Skaisgirytė, other leaders of the member states of the European Union are also discussing support for the plan.
“It has been transmitted to the Belarusian side, we are awaiting their reactions,” said the adviser to the head of state, adding that the plan had been transmitted to the Belarusian authorities through “diplomatic channels.”
A. Skaisgirytė stated that Lithuania, together with the entire European Union, has said that the presidential elections held in Belarus are undemocratic and not transparent.
“After such a statement, it would be completely inappropriate to acknowledge the election result,” replied A. Skaisgirytė when asked whether G. Nausėda and Lithuania consider Aliaksandra Lukashenko to be the legitimate leader of Belarus.
According to the adviser, the reaction of the Belarusian authorities to the plan proposed by G. Nausėda is expected as soon as possible, mainly due to the decrease in the situation.
“If we see that over time that reaction is not positive, we will take other actions, other measures,” said A. Skaisgirytė.
Jurkonis: We can do more than express solidarity
After the meeting with the president, Vytis Jurkonis, the head of the Freedom House office in Vilnius and a political scientist, said that in the protests taking place in Belarus, we see citizens who want freedom and democracy.
According to him, it is natural that the Lithuanian government wants to communicate with those people and organizations that are based in Lithuania and work with the Belarusian civil society.
“In principle, the message that sounded was that, can we be Iceland? Symbolically, we must be sensitive in knowing our history. But at the same time, it has been said that we can be more than Iceland because it is so far away. And we are close to the Belarusians, both geographically and historically, and in human terms. We must not only support them symbolically, but also find practical ways to do so, ”said V. Jurkonis.
According to him, a civic initiative was launched on Thursday, raising funds for victims in Belarus, joined by many members of society and intellectuals.
“We can do much more than express solidarity,” said V. Jurkonis.
According to the political scientist, the Belarusian government is unwilling to enter into any dialogue with the opposition and civil society in the country.
“It is very difficult to trust them, because they have repeatedly turned their backs on the other side that wants dialogue,” said V. Jurkonis.
He recalled the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, when Lithuanian representatives were mediators between the two sides of the conflict. According to V. Jurkonis, there is a theoretical possibility of such mediation even now and Lithuania should use it.
“[Turime] send a signal we’re ready. <...> The response of the Belarusian authorities is up to them. I think they have to, but I’m not very optimistic about it, “said a Freedom House spokesman.
Mr Jurkonis hopes that European leaders will not only voice their concerns, but also take real action and show a principled position on officials who participated in electoral fraud by brutally treating peaceful protesters.
“I think the answer, in terms of sanctions, cannot be less than in 2010. <...> From what we see as the protest evolves, first defending their votes and then going on strike, we can now see that some civil servants and officials are throwing their badges and the little ones are not at least involved in these violent actions.
<...> I think the protest is taking on different colors, it is becoming more and more comprehensive and it is really a cry for freedom, for democracy, for change. And we cannot remain indifferent to that, “said V. Jurkonis.
The protests are taking place in Belarus for the fourth day in a row. The protesters do not agree with the preliminary election results, according to which the current head of state, Lukashenko, obtained 80.08 percent. votes, and her main rival Sviatlana Cichanouskaya – 10.9 percent.
One person was reportedly killed during the protests and more than 100 people (including law enforcement officers) were injured. The Interior Ministry announced that more than 3,000 were detained on Monday night. people, and more than 2,000 the night before.
Several Russian journalists were also arrested during the demonstrations. Anton Starkov, Dmitry Lasenka and Semion Pegov have already been released. Nikita Teliženka, a correspondent for the news portal Znak.com, and Maxim Solopov, a reporter for the independent news website Meduza, were released on Monday night.
S. Cichanouskaja arrived in Lithuania on Tuesday morning. As Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said that day, the woman is in Lithuania with her children, she has a visa valid for one year, but is currently isolated due to the coronavirus.
“Sviatlana Cichanouskaja is safe, she is in Lithuania with her children,” said L. Linkevičius.
The minister confirmed that Marija Moroz, the head of his electoral team, arrived in Lithuania with her offspring. There are also children of S. Cichanouskaya in our country. According to L. Linkevičius, they arrived in Lithuania a little before their mother.
Presidency press conference:
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