MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he wanted neighbouring Belarus to reactivate stalled plans for more integration with Russia after a contested election win left Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an on-off Russian ally, on the defensive.
Putin made his suggestion as the opposition in Belarus rejected official election results handing Lukashenko a landslide re-election victory, saying that talks needed to begin on a peaceful transfer of power.
Thousands of people unhappy with the results clashed with police across Belarus on Sunday night.
The Russian leader has long pushed for closer ties with Minsk under the auspices of a unified state, something Lukashenko has so far rejected, accusing Russia of wanting to swallow up his country of 9.5 million people.
Belarus is a key transit country for Russian oil flowing to the West, and Moscow has long viewed it as a useful buffer zone between itself and NATO.
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Putin pushes for more integration with Belarus after election unrest https://t.co/IhpmY7j7vm pic.twitter.com/OOX3UJxUli
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 10, 2020
Grim first-hand account of the police violence in Belarus last night by @Nat_Vasilyeva, one of the few foreign reporters let into the country to cover its disputed electionhttps://t.co/EAqaCdX98G
— max seddon (@maxseddon) August 10, 2020
Belarus. pic.twitter.com/E8xmYhjwXH
— Jakub Janda (@_JakubJanda) August 10, 2020
After anti-government protestors were taken off the streets by men in masks, into unmarked cars, I'd say the integration has already begun, John.
— Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) August 10, 2020
Images coming out of Minsk tonight. pic.twitter.com/r5Bq53yK0z
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) August 10, 2020
Belarusians are risking their lives to protest a corrupt autocracy, as Ukrainians did in 2014. They should have the support of the entire free world, as their dictator has the support of other dictatorships.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) August 10, 2020
The footage streaming in from Minsk, in spite of an internet blockade and reports the army has been deployed against protesters, is just incredible pic.twitter.com/B341GHSXHB
— max seddon (@maxseddon) August 10, 2020
Belarusian opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has fled her country for neighboring Lithuania, after being detained for 7 hours.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister @LinkeviciusL explains just how Tikhanovskaya ended up in his country, and reacts to the crackdown in Belarus. pic.twitter.com/DNJVYQjnx8
— Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) August 11, 2020
Svetlana #Tikhanovskaya is safe. She is in #Lithuania. pic.twitter.com/6f9U2meoX0
— Linas Linkevicius (@LinkeviciusL) August 11, 2020
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