Sharjah 24 – AFP: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for dialogue between his Belarus ally Alexander Lukashenko and the country's opposition, exiled since Minsk suppressed mass anti-government protests last year.

Putin has continued to back Lukashenko, increasingly isolated since crushing unprecedented demonstrations against his rule after he claimed to win an election last summer that the West says was rigged.

Lukashenko's regime imprisoned hundreds, forcing most of the opposition -- which believes it won the election -- to flee.

In an address to Russia's foreign ministry, Putin said Belarus's internal situation has "calmed down".

"Nonetheless, there are problems. We are all well aware of this and of course call for a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition," said the Russian leader, who regularly hosts Lukashenko.

The Kremlin chief is known for not tolerating street protests and raising suspicions they are instigated by the West, while the Belarusian opposition has been actively courting Western leaders.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the opposition believe was the real winner of last summer's presidential election and has since fled to neighbouring Lithuania, said she had no contact with Moscow but welcomed the call.

"Personally, I did not have contact with the Kremlin. But I welcome calls for dialogue," she told the Belarusian-run news outlet Zerkalo.io.

She added, however, that her conditions for talking to the regime remain the release of political prisoners.

"No dialogue can start in prison. All political prisoners should be freed and violence stopped. Our conditions are the same," she said.

There are 873 political prisoners in Belarus, according to rights group Viasna.

Putin, Lukashenko's main political and financial backer, has been calling for dialogue between Minsk and Brussels in a migrant crisis on the Polish border.