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France's Macron urges EU nations to stand by Belarusian protesters

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 16 Aug 2020

France's Macron urges EU nations to stand by Belarusian protesters

Moscow/Sputnik: French President Emmanuel Macron called on the European Union on Sunday to actively take the side of Belarusians protesting against the reelection of their long-time president.

"The EU must continue to mobilize at the side of hundreds of thousands of Belarusians who have been protesting peacefully so that their rights, freedom and sovereignty are respected," he tweeted.

The EU foreign ministers agreed this week to draft a list of Belarusian officials they hold responsible for suspected vote rigging and police violence against demonstrators. They will be slapped with targeted sanctions.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused EU neighbors on Saturday of seeking to create a Belarusian government-in-exile after his rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania, announced the creation of a coordination council that would oversee the transfer of power in Belarus.