Supporters of the opposition in Belarus have decried state-approved exit polls that showed Lukashenko winning nearly 80 percent of the vote in his country’s presidential election.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nausėda said in a joint statement: “As neighbors of Belarus, we call on Belarusian authorities to fully recognize and uphold basic democratic standards.
“We urge to refrain from violence and call for respect of fundamental freedoms, human and citizen rights including the rights of national minorities and freedom of speech,” they added in the statement, published in English on the Polish president’s website.
Duda and Nausėda said they believed that dialogue is “always the best method” to advance social development, discuss reforms and policies.
They added: “We are convinced that closer cooperation with the European Union is in the interest of Belarus, we want the doors for this cooperation to remain open and stand ready to continue to provide further support to Belarus in deepening its relations with the united European family.”
(pk)
Source: president.pl/Reuters