The United States is concerned about the protests in Belarus and intends to work with the European Union to respond to them. This was stated by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to the Czech Republic.
Pompeo’s interview with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, published on the State Department’s website, said that Washington was concerned about the elections in the republic and was “deeply disappointed that the vote was not free and fair.”
At the same time, at the moment, an appropriate response to the unrest in Belarus has not been determined. Pompeo said the United States intends to work with European allies, who are also concerned about what is happening.
The Secretary of State also said that the United States intends to consider the possibility of imposing sanctions against Minsk, including the suspension of oil supplies. At the same time, Pompel added that these may not be unilateral sanctions from Washington, but restrictive measures in a multilateral format in order to “achieve a good result for the Belarusian people.”
Mass protests have been taking place in Belarus since August 9, on that day, presidential elections were held in the country. The current 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.