Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) made a speech Wednesday at an open high-level virtual sitting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), addressing the pandemic and the challenges of sustaining peace, in which he raised the issue of the post-election demonstrations in Belarus.

Reinsalu said: "From the outset, please allow me to say few words about the very worrying situation in Belarus.

The presidential elections in Belarus on Sunday cannot be considered free, fair and democratic.

As a result we are now witnessing unprecedented nationwide protests and excessive use of force by the government.

Let me underline that violent crackdown of peaceful protests is unacceptable."

The foreign minister added: "We call on Belarus to immediately end political repressions against the opposition, to avoid any further violence and to uphold respect for human rights."