Angela Merkel To Meet With Belarus Opposition Leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya
Belarusfeed
1 October 2020, 16:15
German Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to meet with Belarus’s main opposition leader and Head of the Opposition Coordination Council Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Merkel made the announcement during her speech to the Bundestag on Wednesday.
The meeting would take place “soon”, Germany’s chancellor told the Bundestag during a speech as part of the government’s ongoing 2021 budget debates. She reiterated that the EU did not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the winner of the August election and condemned the violent crackdown on the protests.
“We don’t recognise the election of President Lukashenko. […] We call on him to enter into a dialog with his people, without any intervention from the West or the East,” Merkel told lawmakers.
Besides, she also the courage of Belarusian women: “When you see the courage shown by the women taking to the streets for a free life without corruption, then I can only say: I admire that and find it truly impressive.”
Merkel’s remarks came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Tikhanovskaya and pledged to help mediate in the country’s political crisis. Meanwhile, protests in Belarus against the election results, police brutality and lawlessness have entered their eighth consecutive week.
1 October 2020, 16:15
Photo: Reuters
The meeting would take place “soon”, Germany’s chancellor told the Bundestag during a speech as part of the government’s ongoing 2021 budget debates. She reiterated that the EU did not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the winner of the August election and condemned the violent crackdown on the protests.
“We don’t recognise the election of President Lukashenko. […] We call on him to enter into a dialog with his people, without any intervention from the West or the East,” Merkel told lawmakers.
Besides, she also the courage of Belarusian women: “When you see the courage shown by the women taking to the streets for a free life without corruption, then I can only say: I admire that and find it truly impressive.”
Merkel’s remarks came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Tikhanovskaya and pledged to help mediate in the country’s political crisis. Meanwhile, protests in Belarus against the election results, police brutality and lawlessness have entered their eighth consecutive week.
