Poland and Lithuania on Friday announced funding to help people in neighbouring Belarus after nearly a week of protests following a disputed presidential election. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the main challenger in the election Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has sought refuge in Lithuania, also spoke about seeking "peaceful dialogue" with the government in Minsk. In a phone call, Tikhanovskaya told Nauseda she was "ready to take her responsibility to help implement the plan" for mediation tabled by Belarus' EU neighbours, the president's spokesman Antanas Bubnelis told AFP. "Tikhanovskaya thanked the president for his leadership in seeking ways to resolve the crisis in Belarus and confirmed she saw her mission in seeking peaceful dialogue," the spokesman added. The phone call came after the presidents of Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia jointly urged Belarus's strongman President Alexander Lukashenko to create a "national reconciliation forum" and offered mediation. Lithuania also on Friday offered to treat Belarusians injured during the protests and suggested setting up the EU fund to support "the victims of repressions". Poland announced 11 million euros ($13 million) in funding to help Belarusians get visas and finance their settlement in Poland, as well as support for independent media and non-governmental organisations in Belarus. "We cannot put on a mask of indifference or neutrality at times like this," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told parliament as he announced the measures. There will also be scholarships for Belarusian students. "We have opened our hearts to Belarus. Now we want to open our borders and our universities," Morawiecki said. burs-dt/lc