Belarus must urgently set up a national dialogue including civil society to come out peacefully from the current crisis, the EU and Canada urged Wednesday. In a joint statement, EU Vice President Josep Borrell and Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said "it is now urgent to launch an open and constructive national dialogue." "Only a peaceful and democratic process can de-escalate the situation and provide sustainable solutions," they added. Belarus is experiencing an unprecedented protest movement against President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994. As an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) participating state, Belarus has committed "to holding genuinely democratic elections and to upholding human rights and fundamental freedoms," Borrell and Champagne said. They also backed an Albanian OSCE chairmanship-in-office proposal to support dialogue in Belarus by a joint visit with the incoming OSCE chairperson-in-office, Sweden, and called on Belarusian authorities to "accept this proposal without delay." OSCE observers were not present on the day of the presidential election in Belarus, a first since 2001, saying they were not invited in time. amc/st