2020-08-17 20:28 update: 2020-08-18, 12:27
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Photo. PAP/Przemysław Piątkowski
The initiative of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for a European Council sitting on Belarus ended in success, said Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski, while the head of the PM's Office, Michal Dworczyk said the EU could not be passive on the issue
European Council President Charles Michel on Monday announced a videoconference on Wednesday with talks starting at 12:00.
"The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader," Michel tweeted on Monday. "Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed."
Dworczyk told PAP on Monday that Poland was the first country to actively strive for wider interest in the events in Belarus. "The development of events confirmed the diagnosis of the situation formulated by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki," Dworczyk said.
"We are dealing with elections that were held in an incorrect way. Belarusians have the right to choose their president in a democratic way. After a wave of repressions we are dealing with a growing wave of social protests," Dworczyk added, going on to state that Wednesday's videoconference is the result of "the prime minister's active policy, of contacts with EU leaders and the role of the Visegrad Group."
The Visegrad Group is made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski took to Twitter, describing the decision as a success for the Polish PM, who had appealed to the Council and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a week ago, the day after the August 9 presidential election in Belarus, to hold a Council summit on the issue.
Following the election, according to the official results of which the incumbent of 26 years Alexander Lukashenko took over 80 percent of the vote, protests have been held in many Belarusian towns and cities by demonstrators disputing the authenticity of the results. Since the protests started on Sunday August 9, many have met with violence by security forces with around 7,000 people being detained.
Lukashenko's main rival, independent candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is currently in Lithuania, said on Monday that she is ready to take responsibility and act as national leader. On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the country's streets in Belarus's biggest ever peaceful public demonstration. (PAP)
