German Chancellor Angela Merkel held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, during which the events in Belarus were discussed, TASS reported referring to the official representative of the Cabinet of Ministers of Germany, Steffen Seibert.

The Chancellor noted that the Belarusian government should abandon the use of force against peaceful demonstrators, immediately release political prisoners and enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and society to overcome the crisis, Seibert said.