MINSK, December 30. /TASS/. Belarusian opposition managed to establish political and diplomatic contacts with 25 countries, while 11 new visits are being prepared, former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya claims.

"We are currently establishing political and diplomatic contacts with other countries - there are already 25 countries. We do not stop there and continue this work," she said during an online conference Wednesday.

According to Tikhanovskaya’s headquarters representative on foreign affairs Valery Kovalevsky, the ex-candidate’s current main priority in foreign policy is to inform about what is happening in Belarus, in order to exert pressure on the authorities to "stop the lawlessness" and bring the authorities to dialogue.

"As of today, we have carried out 10 visits to various countries; during these visits, Tikhanovskaya represents all Belarusians who fight for democracy and the free Belarus. We have established contacts with the authorities of 25 countries, and we currently prepare new visits to 11 states," Kovalevsky said.

He reminded that the European Union has introduced three sanctions packages against the Belarusian authorities, and that Minsk’s reaction to these measures was "sensitive," the representative claimed, adding that the EU currently works on the fourth package.

"The EU expects that the new package will be reviewed and adopted, probably, in late January - early February," he said.

Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped.