Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée on September 27, 2020. -

PIERRE VILLARD / SIPA

The French President will have the opportunity to once again hold his firm speech against his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

Emmanuel Macron arrives in Vilnius on Monday, where Lithuanian leaders await his clear support against the regime in neighboring Belarus and Russian pressure, in the aftermath of further massive protests in Minsk.

The French president's two-day tour of the region will also take him through Latvia.

A possible meeting with Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa

Both the European Union and the United States refuse to recognize the election of Lukashenko, deemed fraudulent, and condemn the repression against opponents.

Belarusian police arrested another two hundred people on Sunday.

The French president has also “not excluded” meeting in Vilnius the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, exiled in Lithuania.

Lithuanian writers, artists and scientists on Sunday called on the French president to support the protesters.

"Men and women" of Belarus "are subjected to inhuman torture.

And this is happening in 21st century Europe!

“, Underline these artists and scientists, some of whom will have lunch on Tuesday with Emmanuel Macron.

This crisis should therefore dominate the discussions of the French president on Monday with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda.

The Baltic states await firm support against pressure from Vladimir Putin, at a time when the poisoning of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny is further increasing tensions between Moscow and the West.

NATO also on the program

In April 2018, Emmanuel Macron received in Paris the presidents of the three Baltic States on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of their independence.

He then reaffirmed that France was at their "side", in particular "within the framework of NATO".

The Frenchman will also take advantage of his visit to meet NATO troops in the region, by going to the Lithuanian base in Rukla, where 300 French soldiers are stationed in an international NATO battalion.

A symbolic presence in the face of Russian forces.

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