Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Wednesday, August 12, that his country, as well as Latvia and Poland, have prepared a plan to overcome the crisis in Belarus.
According to the head of the Baltic state, the developed plan contains three points to resolve the situation, reports TASS.
As Nauseda noted, the Belarusian authorities must first of all stop using force against the protesters. In addition, according to the Lithuanian leader, the detainees must be released. The third point of the plan is the beginning of a dialogue between the Belarusian authorities and representatives of civil society.
“When adopting this plan, our countries are ready to act as mediators in organizing the process of overcoming the crisis,” Nauseda said.
He also added that Lithuania, Latvia and Poland proposed to create a so-called national council in Belarus for a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition.
“A suitable solution <...> could be the formation of a certain national council of representatives of the authorities and civil society, the purpose of which would be to find ways out of the crisis,” the politician said.
Mass protests have been taking place in Belarus since August 9, on that day, presidential elections were held in the country. The incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko, according to the CEC, received 80.08% of the vote, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was supported by 10.09% of voters. Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters did not recognize the results of the vote.
After that, people who disagreed with the election results began to take to the streets. They are opposed by the security forces. In the clashes, there are casualties on both sides.