Italy has renewed a call dialogue between the government, opposition and civil society activists in Belarus, which has seen over three weeks of mass protests since polls last month that officials said re-elected authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term of office.
"We renew our appeal to the Belarusian government to undertake dialogue with the opposition and civil society - the only path to a stable, negotiated solution to the current crisis," Italy's foreign undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto said in a statement.
"The European Union must keep finding strength from the unity it is showing over this standoff and implement as soon as possible the appropriate measures at its disposal to persuade the government in Minsk to immediately stop the ongoing repression, to respect fundamental liberties (beginning with press freedom) and to begin political dialogue with the opposition," Scalfarotto concluded.
Protests against Lukashenko's 26-year-rule have continued across Belarus since the 9 August presidential election, which was widely regarded as rigged, and was rejected by the EU and the United States as neither free nor fair.
Belarusian authorities were widely accused of using brutality against protesters in the immediate aftermath of the 9 August vote. In recent days, they have begun a fresh crackdown, turning out in force during mass demonstrations in Minsk on Sunday and arresting at least 140 people. Seventeen journalists, most of them Belarusian citizens, have lost their accreditation and four journalists working for foreign news outlets have reportedly been deported.
