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“The demand by the Belarusian authorities that Poland and Lithuania withdraw their envoys and significantly reduce their diplomatic missions in Minsk is unfounded and regrettable. This goes against the logic of dialogue and will lead to further isolation of power in Minsk,” Borrell said in a statement in Brussels on Sunday.
According to the EU’s head of diplomacy, attempts by the Belarusian authorities to act against certain EU member states “will not weaken the unity of the EU.”
“The EU continues to support the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect a president in new free and fair elections without external interference,” Borrell said.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that its call a day earlier to reduce the diplomatic staff of the Lithuanian and Polish embassies in Minsk was mandatory.
After the disputed presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, Lithuania and Poland took a tough stance on Alexander Lukashenko and expressed their support for Belarusians calling for new elections.
On Friday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced the withdrawal of its ambassadors from Lithuania and Poland for consultations, and called on those countries to reduce the number of diplomats in their embassies in Minsk.
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