Any attempt by the Belarusian government to use NATO as an excuse to suppress protests is wrong and unlawful, Reuters reported referring to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Speaking in Berlin before a meeting of EU defense ministers, Stoltenberg also called for free and fair elections in Belarus after the August 9 vote, the results of which, according to opponents of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, were rigged.

"There is no military NATO buildup in the region, so any attempt by the regime in Belarus to use NATO as an excuse or a pretext to crack down on demonstrators in their own country is absolutely wrong and absolutely unjustified," he told reporters.