OREANDA-NEWS. The telephone conversation between the Acting Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the ruler of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko provoked sharp criticism both in Germany and in Estonia and Poland. So the deputy of the «green» faction and a member of the Bundestag committee on international Affairs Omid Nouripour on the air of the Deutschlandfunk radio station on Tuesday, November 16, called these negotiations «a terrible signal». He noted that the European Union does not recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, but Merkel, having held this conversation, actually made this recognition.

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, also criticized Merkel's conversation with Lukashenko on Monday. According to him, the acting Chancellor of Germany «thereby recognized Lukashenko as the legitimate president» of Belarus.

«It was a serious disappointment, because we took a common position that we do not recognize Lukashenko as the head of the Belarusian state. Such contact with Merkel creates a rather strange impression. In addition, she did it bypassing Poland, and Putin would have liked it very much», the ERR broadcasting portal quoted Mihkelson as saying on Tuesday.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski is skeptical about the actions of the international community regarding the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border. «It should be borne in mind that internationalization is certainly necessary, but not enough to negotiate over our heads and make similar proposals», he said on Polish radio.