US official will travel to Russia, Lithuania amid Belarus crisis

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will travel to Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine on August 24-27 to meet senior government leaders to discuss regional issues, the State Department said in a statement on Sunday.

Reuters reported exclusively on Friday that Biegun would travel to the region for talks on Belarus, sources said, as Washington seeks a peaceful resolution to that country’s election crisis that averts Russian intervention.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The State Department statement made no mention of Belarus.

Biegun’s planned mission signals a greater US role in trying to settle the strife that erupted when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brutally cracked down on peaceful protesters rejecting his claim of a landslide August 9 election win.