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On 14 August, Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius took part in an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council convened via a video conference to discuss the critical situation in Belarus and renewed tensions in the east of the Mediterranean.

At the Council meeting, the Minister presented his view of the situation in neighbouring Belarus:

“We see brutal and disproportionate use of force by the authorities against peaceful citizens of the country who are protesting against forged elections, persecution of opponents and detention of thousands of people, we cannot tolerate that next to the EU border, and an independent international investigation must be conducted“, Linkevičius said.

The Minister proposed to initiate a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in the near future to discuss the situation in Belarus.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the official election results were released today and the streets full of protesters show how ‘credible they are. Lukashenko can no longer call himself the President of Belarus. The Minister proposed imposing tailored sanctions against the Belarusian officials in charge:

“We cannot remain indifferent, we must demand personal responsibility of the officials and politicians for the use of force against peaceful protesters and electoral fraud“, Linkevičius said.

The Minister informed the Council of the three-point plan initiated by the President of Lithuania and supported by the leaders of Poland, Latvia and Estonia aimed at resolving the current situation and urging to stop violence, release the detainees and initiate a dialogue with the people by establishing a national council comprised of the Belarusian authorities and the civil society. Minister Linkevičius also suggested to set up an EU fund for the Belarusian victims of the repression. The Council supported Lithuania‘s proposals.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs drew attention of the EU partners and institutions to the rushed launch of the Ostravest NPP, i.e., loading of nuclear fuel only two days before the presidential election which shows the political interest of the regime to disregard the nuclear safety and environmental standards.

“Taking into account the political instability in Belarus, the EU should urge Belarus to stop the commissioning of the first block of the NPP”, the Minister said.

On the situation in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, the prevailing opinion in the Council was that the demarcation of maritime borders had to be settled through dialogue and negotiations in accordance with the international law, as stability in the Mediterranean was in the common interest of the entire EU.