US insists Belarus must accept demand for ‘dialogue’ with exiled protest leader Tikhanovskaya & calls on allies to back opposition

Embattled Belarusian

Embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko should begin talks with the organizers of mass street protests that have rocked the nation since last summer’s disputed presidential election, American diplomats have urged.

In a speech at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday, the US charge d’ affaires to the Permanent Council, Courtney Austrian, said that her country backed calls by opposition figurehead Svetlana Tikhanovskaya for negotiations with the government. The US, she said, “hopes such a dialogue will lead to the negotiations necessary for new, free, and fair elections in Belarus.”

Continue reading https://on.rt.com/b451