MOSCOW (AP) – Russia’s foreign intelligence leader said Thursday on a stopover in Belarus that the two-and-a-half months of protests since the country’s presidential elections had been encouraged from abroad.
Belarus has been shaken by large protests opposed to the re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term in a vote on 9 August which, according to the opposition, he manipulated. Lukashenko, who ruled the former Soviet country with an iron hand for more than 26 years, accused the United States and its allies of fueling the protests.
Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, echoed the claims of the Belarusian leader of a stopover in the capital, Minsk, a former Soviet republic with close economic ties to Moscow.
“We see a preference to review to replace the existing order, the existing political system, with unconstitutional means,” Naryshkin said after an assembly with Lukashenko. “The outdoor influence is pretty obvious. “
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on the right, talks to Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, at his assembly in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday, October 22, 2020. Lukashenko thanked Naryshkin for sharing intelligence data with Belarus. (Photo by Nikolai Petrov / BelTA Pool via AP)
Naryshkin welcomed a constitutional amendment procedure proposed through Lukashenko, saying he would “answer many questions” while preserving stability in Belarus. The opposition rejected the reform as an attempt through Lukashenko to buy time and remain in effect while alleviating public anger.
“Russia gives Lukashenko a lifeline,” said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent analyst founded in Minsk. “Indistinct constitutional reform intends to update the political calendar and the government drowns out protests in talks, but an exacerbation of the economic landscape can lead to a new wave of discontent. “
The United States and the European Union rejected the August elections as neither lax nor fair and imposed sanctions against high-ranking Belarusians accused of manipulating votes and taking strong action against nonviolent protesters.
The EU warned that it is in a position to sanction Lukashenko if he fails to engage in talks with the opposition. The president ignored the negotiating demands and instead trusted russia’s politics and economy, his main best friend and sponsor.
On Thursday, the EU awarded its first human rights award to the Belarusian motion of opposition and its leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was Lukashenko’s main rival in the presidential election. Official effects showed that Tsikhanouskaya won 10% of Lukashenko’s 80% vote.
Tsikhanouskaya, a 38-year-old former English instructor with no past political experience, joined the race after her husband was imprisoned in Belarus and prevented from running. He’s still in jail.
Tsikhanouskaya, who moved to Lithuania after the Belarusian authorities’ electoral tension, launched an ultimatum at Lukashenko: announce his resignation before 25 October or face a national strike.
Daily protests continued despite arrests and pressure. More than 100,000 people took to the streets of Minsk on Sunday and dozens of disabled people piled up on Thursday shouting “Go!”To ask for Lukashenko’s resignation.
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