Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assured the democracy movement in Belarus of further support.
Merkel had a telephone conversation with opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Monday, according to government spokesperson Steffen Seibert in Berlin.
The chancellor has been criticized because she also spoke on the phone with ruler Alexander Lukashenko about the situation at the EU's external border between Poland and Belarus, where thousands of migrants from various crisis-hit countries are trying to reach the West.
The EU no longer recognizes Lukashenko as president after an obviously rigged election.
In her conversation with Tikhanovskaya, who has been living in exile since last year, Merkel underlined the "continued support of the German government," the statement said.
In addition, the political leadership in Belarus must "cease repression against the opposition and independent journalists, release prisoners and enter into a serious dialogue with society."
Merkel also renewed the call for "free and fair new elections."
Tikhanovskaya, who had expressed irritation at Merkel's conversation with Lukashenko, now stressed that she understood the "humanitarian goals."
"The lives and health of both migrants on the Belarusian border with the EU and Belarusian citizens are being held hostage by the regime," a statement on her homepage stated.
Earlier, Tikhanovskaya had said of Merkel's call with Lukashenko that "from the side of the Belarusian people, it looked very strange."
Even if the phone calls with Minsk had just been about the current migrant crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, Tikhanovskaya said that Lukashenko should not be legitimized through diplomatic dialogue.
She again called on the international community to maintain the pressure on Lukashenko and for the release of political prisoners.
Tikhanovskaya was in Vienna to attend a conference on Belarusian civil society.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who attended the Vienna conference by video link, said: "The domestic situation in Belarus is worse than ever," adding that the exiled opposition must now remain united abroad.
Pressure on Lukashenko must be maintained, Maas said, referring to the EU's fifth package of sanctions on Belarus, which is still being drafted.
After the stolen presidential election in Belarus last year, which was not recognized by the EU, there were mass protests against Lukashenko, which were later put down violently.
The EU also blames Lukashenko for the massing of Middle Eastern refugees on the EU's external border as retaliation for its sanctions on Minsk and for refusing to recognize Lukashenko as the country's legitimate leader.
