US official to meet with Belarusian civil society, opposition representatives in Lithuania

US State Department's Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Nathan Sales will be visiting Lithuania to meet with Belarusian opposition representatives.

As per the US State Department statement, Sales will “meet with members of Belarusian civil society to discuss how the US can support the Belarusian people's demand for free and fair elections and an end to the Belarusian authorities' violent post-election crackdown”. He is also scheduled to hold talks with the Lithuanian vice minister of foreign affairs and vice minister of the interior.

Read: Russia, Belarus Leaders Order Officials To Establish Greater Contacts To Strengthen Tires

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Lithuania

Belarus’s main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania shortly after the declaration of the presidential election results. The election results declared President Alexander Lukashenko the winner with 80% votes and since then, Belarus has been gripped by larges scale popular movements with protestors rejecting the election as rigged and demanding Lukashenko’s resignation.

The Belarusian police force has played a key role in maintaining Lukashenko’s hold over political power. The police have been trying to suppress protests with mass arrests, a tactic that has received international condemnation with the UN accusing Belarus of Human Rights abuses.

Read: Belarus Police Officers' Personal Information Leaked As Mass Protests Enter 7th Week

Russia and Belarus strengthen bilateral relations

Meanwhile, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, September 20 stated that several authorities in Russia and Belarus have been tasked to establish greater personal contacts following Vladimir Putin’s recent talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.

Last week, Russia also approved a $1.5 billion loan to Belarus. Upon announcement of the loan, Belarus protestors called out Russia for trying to aid Lukashenko amid mass anti-governmental demonstrations in Minsk. September 19 saw a massive women’s protest march on the streets of Minsk with hundreds of protestors being detained by the police. Belarus protests just entered their 7th week while Lukashenko continues to insist that the mass unrest is a US ploy to destabilise the country and bring about another ‘colour revolution’ in the region.

(With ANI inputs)

Read: Belarus Official Repeatedly Interrupts UN Meeting On Human Rights Abuse Against Protestors

Read: Belarus: Over 200 Women Protestors Detained In Minsk As Unrest Continues