Belarus must be pressured to negotiate with opposition, says Svoboda

The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, says it is necessary to maintain continuous political pressure on Belarus to negotiate with the country's opposition. Mr Svoboda said Sunday's presidential elections in Belarus, which President Alexander Lukashenko is widely predicted to win, were not democratic.

The Czech prime minister, Jiri Paroubek, said he was not enthusiastic about Mr Lukashenko's expected victory, but said it was very much an internal matter for Belarus.