US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, as Washington said it will continue its efforts to stand with the Belarusian people and their aspirations for human rights and democracy.

Blinken joined a meeting between Tikhanovskaya and State Department number three Victoria Nuland in a show of support a day before the Belarusian opposition leader attends meetings at the White House.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Mr Blinken and Ms Tikhanovskaya “discussed the ongoing repression, the crackdown” by President Alexander Lukashenko.

The US will “continue our efforts to stand with the Belarusian people and their aspirations for human rights, democracy and their broader Euro-Atlantic aspirations”, - Mr Price told reporters.