Emmanuel Macron expressed Wednesday, during a videoconference with Vladimir Putin, his "very great concern" about the situation in Belarus (the spelling used by French diplomacy) after the re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
During this exchange with his Russian counterpart, the Head of State “expressed his very great concern about the situation in Belarus and the violence against citizens during the elections. He stressed the need to return to the path of dialogue, ”the Elysee said.
President @EmmanuelMacron spoke with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin about the fight against the pandemic, aid to Lebanon and the situation in Belarus. Learn more: https: //t.co/Eyv3eNVCl2
- Elysee (@Elysee) August 12, 2020This reaction is Emmanuel Macron's first since the announcement of the landslide victory on Sunday - with 80.08% of the vote - of Alexandre Lukashenko for a sixth term, after a presidential election marked by strong suspicions of 'irregularities. Along with his Chinese counterpart, Vladimir Poutine was the only head of state to congratulate Lukashenko.
The latter had, however, accused Moscow of wanting to vassalize his country and seek to destabilize it. Russia has nevertheless denounced arrests of Russian journalists, and demanded the release of 33 Russians presented since the end of July by Minsk as mercenaries working with the opposition.
The Elysée calls for "the greatest restraint"
The Quai d'Orsay called on the Belarusian authorities on Monday to "exercise the utmost restraint", as police cracked down on opposition demonstrations protesting against the results of the poll. A 25-year-old protester, arrested during a rally against Lukashenko's re-election, died on Wednesday. This is the second death recorded since the start of this protest movement.
The president's main rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, preferred to take refuge in Lithuania for her safety.
US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo, German Chancellery Angela Merkel and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also denounced the crackdown.
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Foreign ministers of EU member states are due to meet on Friday and Brussels has threatened to take sanctions against Minsk.
A vaccine that France should recognize
During their exchange, the French and Russian presidents also discussed Lebanon and cooperation between France and Russia in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Elysee. This cooperation must "take into account the registration of a vaccine by Russia," the Kremlin said in a statement released after the phone call.
Germany, which is chairing the European Union this semester, has expressed doubts about "the quality, efficacy and safety of the Russian vaccine".
Moscow also specifies that a "possible visit" of Emmanuel Macron to Russia, which had been announced at the end of June, is still in preparation.