Foreign Desk Report
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the ongoing protests in Belarus in a phone conversation Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Putin decried any foreign attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus, which may lead to a further escalation of the crisis, it said in a press release. Hope was expressed for an early return to normalization in Belarus, the Kremlin added.
Belarus is engulfed in mass protests after incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term during the Aug. 9 elections, with the opposition refusing to recognize the results.
On Monday, Lukashenko said at a rally in Minsk that there would be no re-election. He said he could share presidential power in accordance with the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed “the aggravated situation” in Belarus in a phone conversation Tuesday, the Kremlin has said. “Putin emphasized the inadmissibility of meddling in the internal affairs of Belarus and putting pressure on its leadership,” the Kremlin said in a news release.
Both Putin and Macron expressed interest in an early settlement of the problems in Belarus, it said.
