European leaders are expected to announce sanctions on Belarus and its embattled president, Alexander Lukashenko, as the crisis following the contested election intensifies.
A European Union summit got underway on Wednesday morning to discuss the unfolding crisis. The E.U. signaled it may impose sanctions on Belarusian officials it deems responsible for election fraud and a crackdown on protests in which at least two demonstrators have been killed and thousands detained.
“What we have witnessed in Belarus is not acceptable. The Aug. 9 elections were neither free nor fair … The E.U. has started work on sanctions,” European Council President Charles Michel said in an invitation letter to the 27 leaders, establishing the virtual emergency meeting.
Speaking from neighboring Lithuania, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, appealed to E.U. leaders on Wednesday to reject what she called a fraudulent presidential election.
“Mr. Lukashenko has lost all legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world,” Tsikhanouskaya said, speaking in English for the first time in a video address.
“I call on you to support the awakening of Belarus…I call to respect the sovereignty of Belarus and the choice of Belarusian people.”
Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who emerged as an unexpected opposition candidate after better-known figures including her activist husband were jailed or barred from standing in the election, says she is the rightful winner of the Aug. 9 presidential election in the former Soviet republic.
In the short video, she also called for fresh elections to be held under international supervision.
President Donald Trump speaking on Tuesday said he would talk to Russia, an ally of Belarus, “at the appropriate time,” in the wake of protests that he said appeared mostly peaceful.
“I like seeing democracy,” he told reporters. “It doesn’t seem like it’s too much democracy there in Belarus.”
Trump gave no further details about when he would hold talks with Moscow, adding that he would also speak to other people.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and E.U. leader Charles Michel each spoke separately to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone on Tuesday. The Kremlin said Putin warned all three against foreign meddling in the affairs of Belarus.
Belarus and Russia share deep economic, historic and cultural ties but Lukashenko and Putin have a somewhat frosty personal relationship, say analysts. Despite this, Putin has offered Lukashenko “assistance” if needed in the wake of the unrest, according to the Kremlin’s official transcripts.
Thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets every day since Lukashenko’s contested landslide victory, as calls for his departure grow after a violent crackdown on protesters.
Often termed “Europe’s last dictator” the demonstrations pose the biggest challenge to Lukashenko’s 26-year hold on power — he denies rigging the election to secure a sixth term.
After videos appeared online showing some police officers throwing their uniforms into dustbins, the Interior Ministry acknowledged on Tuesday that some police had quit.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Yuliya Talmazan contributed.