MOSCOW – Belarus’s authoritarian leader tried Wednesday to denigrate the protesters and it was not easy to resign for the sixth week directly after a disputed election accusing the United States of fomenting riots.
In a long speech to senior officials, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denounced the alleged plan to destabilize the US-led country and said that America’s allies in Europe had engaged in the years-long effort to prepare for their attempts to reject the opposition. Western accountants.
Lukashenko provided no evidence of his claim that the United States was concerned about the protests.
Her main rival in the election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, downplayed her comments as a way to divert public attention from vote manipulation and violent repression of protests.
“There is only one explanation as to why behind the protests in Belarus and everyone knows it: Lukashenko lost the vote, but he does not need to resign,” Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press in a written commentary. “People denied Lukashenko his acceptance as true with and help and demanded that he leave. “
Demonstrators in Belarus flooded the streets of the Belarusian capital and cities, denouncing Lukashenko’s re-election in the August 9 vote as manipulated. The great protests were motivated by frustration over the Belarusian man’s 26-year reign, his arrogant reaction to the coronavirus, and the deteriorating economy.
The United States and the European Union criticized the election for being neither loose nor fair and suggested lukashenko initiate talks with the opposition, an appeal he rejected.
“We were given the vote and we were given the result, period,” Lukashenko said in Wednesday’s speech to senior officials. “It is time to stop society from shaking up. “
Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, said in a statement broadcast Wednesday through Russian news agencies that the United States had funded the Belarusian opposition and encouraged protests.
In an obvious to delegitimate Belarusian protests, Naryshkin added that his firm has data that “america plays a key role in advances in Belarus. “He claimed that the United States had earmarked tens of millions of dollars to fund Belarusian opposition groups. , but provided no evidence.
The U. S. embassy in Minsk did not comment.
Tsikhanouskaya, the main rival of the opposition who went to Lithuania a day after official voting pressure, rejected Naryshkin’s statement.
“This is an internal political crisis, and the protesters’ demands involve nothing about relations with other countries or a replacement in Belarus’ foreign policy,” he said in written statements to the Palestinian Authority. “Mr. Naryshkin perceives this better rather than spread it. “outdated propaganda clichés.
In Wednesday’s speech, Lukashenko said the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine had helped propel the protests, but all of these countries have denied lukashenko’s accusations in the past.
“The Belarusian situation in 2020 is a mixture of the effective maximum ‘color destabilization’ technologies that have been tested in various countries,” he said in reference to color-coded protests that have overthrown unpopular leaders in other ex-Soviet countries. We are notoriously dependent on the scale and duration of protests to exhaust and deplete our resources. We don’t and we’re in a position to face any challenge.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said his colleagues from other EU countries will meet on Monday to discuss how to continue sanctions.
“I will say brazenly that if the violence against the nonviolent opposition ceases, those measures will have to be extended to many more people, and then we will have to communicate about Mr Lukashenko,” Maas told the German parliament on Wednesday.
Western tension has led Lukashenko to establish ties with Russia, its main sponsor and ally. Neighboring countries have a union agreement and strong political, economic and military ties.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new $1. 5 billion loan to Belarus when he received Lukashenko on Monday, a monetary lifeguard condemned by the Belarusian opposition, who warned Moscow that he would tarnish long-term ties between countries.
In an effort to rally Moscow’s support, Lukashenko became involved in rhetoric, accusing the West of fueling the protests with the aim of isolating Russia. Earlier this week, Russian paratroopers deployed in Belarus for the exercises, to be held until September 25 near Brest, the border with Poland.
At an assembly with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Belarus on Wednesday to discuss deepening the army’s cooperation, Lukashenko said he hoped to unload more Russian weapons and recommended making plans for more maneuvers in the future.
“We want to think of a time of training and other training, to expand a plan regardless of what they say,” he said. “We’re not going to galvanize or challenge anyone, but we’re going to have to protect our interests. “
The German foreign minister noted that Russia “has a very special responsibility” given its close ties to Belarus and warned that “with its stalwart in favour of Lukashenko so far and his exercise of hybrid influence, Moscow will certainly lose the sympathy of the Belarusian people. “
Maas tried to allay the Kremlin’s fears that Belarus would fall into the western orbit.
“For us in the European Union too, it’s not about separating Belarus from Russia and incorporating it into the European Union,” he said. To hold a free and fair election. “
———
Yuras Karmanau reported from Kiev, Ukraine, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
————
Follow the entire AP on agitation in Belarus in https://apnews. com/Belarus
Politics 24/7 of the latest news and events.