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Pressure must be applied to Lukashenka regime, Obama says

Pressure must be applied to the Lukashenka regime to get it to change its practices, US President Barack Obama said at a news conference that he held with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Saturday.

Mr. Obama criticized the government of Belarus, saying that the country was in an "unacceptable situation," reported CNN.

He said that Alyaksandr Lukashenka has "a total disregard for democratic values and rule of law."

The situation in Belarus was among the issues that Mr. Obama discussed with the Polish premier on Saturday.

In his speech, Mr. Obama mentioned the case of Andrzej Poczobut, a correspondent of the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, who is to stand trial in Hrodna soon on charges of insulting and defaming the president and can face a prison term, according to Polish news site gazeta.pl.

The US president described Mr. Poczobut as a prisoner of conscience.

Mr. Tusk said that Warsaw fully shared Washington’s opinion that the Lukashenka regime had no future in Europe.

While in Warsaw, Mr. Obama was introduced by his Polish counterpart, Bronislaw Komorowski, to Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, director general of the Polish-based Belsat TV targeting audiences in Belarus, at a meeting with dozens of leaders of Poland`s Solidarity movement, as well as civil society leaders.

Belsat TV spokesman Syarhey Pelyasa told BelaPAN that Mr. Obama had expressed his support for the channel.

The president said that the US was proud of the channel`s work, Mr. Pelyasa said.
“I asked President Obama to remember that the Belarusian authorities continue their persecution of political opponents," said Ms. Romaszewska-Guzy. “I hope that the support voiced by Barack Obama will one day lead to real cooperation.”