Biden accuses Trump of "silence" in Belarus

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday backed President Donald Trump for not talking about the repression of democratic protests in Belarus, a country he said was running a "dictator". 

More than 12,000 people have been arrested’ and hundreds are in prison since President Alexander Lukashenko won a landslide victory in the August 9 presidential election in the former Soviet state. Opposition in the Soviet state condemned the rigging.

In a statement emailed to Reuters, Biden backed the protesters' "peaceful expression of freedom" and called for new elections.

Biden, a former vice president and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who is facing probationary clashes with Russia in Eastern Europe also demanded the release of several nominated opposition leaders whom he described as "political prisoners." Said

"Nevertheless, President Trump refused to speak out against Lukashenko's actions or offer his personal support to the pro-democracy movement," Biden said, using an alternative spelling of the Belarusian politician's name.

Lukashenko was inaugurated’ on Wednesday, the day Biden called it a "ceremony of shame," the same day that US news reports dominated Trump's bid for re-election on Biden on November 3. We’re refusing to commit to a peaceful transition.

"A president hiding in fear of his own citizens, refusing to accept the will of the people is a sign of a weak, illegitimate sovereign, not a strong leader," Biden said in a statement.

Trump and Biden are due to meet for their first discussion on Tuesday. These topics include "race and violence in our cities," organizers said.

The two have been at loggerheads over whether large-scale protests in the United States against police violence against blacks are largely peaceful or whether they need to meet with the military, Trump himself. Has been called’ the president of "peace and order".

A spokesman for Trump's presidential the campaign cited a request for comment from the White House, which did not immediately respond.

Biden's remarks will not signal a respite for the 66-year-old Lukashenko, who is now relying on his security forces and his ally Russia to maintain his 26-year grip on power. It has ended the condemnation.

The United States, Britain, and Canada are expected’ to impose sanctions on Belarusians as soon as possible, as these governments view peaceful protests as rigged elections and violence.

In his statement, Biden promised to "defend our democratic values ​​and stand with those who share them," but his administration did not elaborate on the policy measures taken against Belarus.

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