Belarus: "It is clear that Lukashenko must leave", says Emmanuel Macron

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashneko, "must go," said French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with the

.

"What is happening in Belarus is a crisis of power, an authoritarian power which cannot accept the logic of democracy and which clings by force. It is clear that Lukashenko must leave", declares the President of the Republic, quoted Sunday by the newspaper.

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"The women who march every Saturday command respect"

The French president also says he is "impressed by the courage of the demonstrators" in Belarus.

"They know the risks they take by parading every weekend and yet, they are continuing the movement to bring democracy to life in this country which has been deprived of it for so long," adds Emmanuel Macron, for whom "women in particular, who parade every Saturday, command respect ".

More than 90 people, mostly women, were arrested on Saturday during opposition rallies, an NGO said.

Regarding the role of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the search for a solution to the political crisis after the contested re-election of President Lukashenko on August 9, Emmanuel Macron considers that we are still far from the mark.

“I happened to speak to Vladimir Putin on September 14, the day he received Lukashenko in Sochi. I told him that Russia has a role to play, and that role can be positive if he pushes Lukashenko to respect the truth of the ballot box and release political prisoners. It was two weeks ago, we are not there, "said the French president, quoted by the newspaper.

A visit to the Baltic States next week

Emmanuel Macron will make his first visit to Lithuania and Latvia from Monday to Wednesday, two Baltic states which hope for his support in the face of the political crisis in Belarus and Russian pressure.

Both the EU and the Baltic countries did not recognize his election and Lithuania gave refuge to the leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

The French presidency has indicated that it is "not excluded" that the French president meets in Vilnius the Belarusian opponent.

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Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa: "Lukashenko no longer controls the people, we are no longer afraid"

Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa told

on Thursday that

she "expects a lot" from Emmanuel Macron and hopes that he "gets involved in helping us break the deadlock".

France is calling for a peaceful transition for Belarus, with the end of the repression and then by the initiation of a dialogue taking into account the will of the population, "while avoiding the risk of greater repression, or even intervention by Russia, ”recalled the French presidency.