European leaders have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for dialogue in neighbouring Belarus ahead of emergency talks on the crisis triggered by President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed election win.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Independence Square in central Minsk on Tuesday evening waving the red-and-white flags of the opposition and calling on Lukashenko to resign, the latest in a wave of protests after the president claimed he had won a sixth term in the August 9 ballot.

EU chief Charles Michel said on Twitter he had spoken to Putin and added that “only peaceful and truly inclusive dialogue can resolve the crisis in Belarus“.