Slovak, German FMs on Navalny, Belarus, Belgian police

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas commented on the alleged poisoning of a Russian opposition figure and the current situation in Belarus during a joint-press conference with his Slovak counterpart in Bratislava on Friday.

On the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, Maas said that it was difficult to judge whether there were medical reasons for not transporting Navalny to Berlin.

However he said the offer of further treatment for the patient in Germany remains open.

Maas said he and the Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok agreed that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with Russia's involvement, "can and should" contribute to finding a solution in Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko must now "arrive in reality" by compromising and allowing dialogue, Maas continued.

During the joint-press conference, Korcok condemned the violent treatment of a Slovak citizen by Belgium officers and demanded a thorough and immediate investigation in the case that has shocked the Slovak public.

"It shows inadequate and absolutely unacceptable police brutality and indecent behaviour of police officers towards a citizen of the Slovak Republic," Korkoc said.

Korcok said that a 2018 video that published a Belgian newspaper with an officer sitting on top of a Slovak man in custody at a local airport and another officer apparently making a Hitler salute had, "infuriated the Slovak public, civil society and the entire Slovak political scene."