Russia by real deeds proves the importance and priority of Belarus as Moscow’s closest ally, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko.
“We are now actively implementing a program of visits by our governors, that is, we are proving the importance and priority of this our closest ally by real deeds”, – Rudenko told reporters.
“I can’t say anything about the meeting of the leaders. We will have a joint meeting of the collegium in Minsk in November through the Foreign Ministries”, – he added.
Massive opposition protests began across Belarus on August 9, after the presidential elections, which Alexander Lukashenko won – according to the CEC, he gained 80.1% of the vote. In the early days, the actions were suppressed by the security forces, and against the protesters who did not agree with the results, they used tear gas, flash grenades and rubber bullets.
According to official data, over 6.7 thousand people were detained in the first days. As the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic reported at the time, hundreds of people were injured during the riots, among them over 130 law enforcement officers. The authorities have officially confirmed the deaths of three protesters. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, September 23, Lukashenka was inaugurated, which provoked a protest action, which was again dispersed by security officials using force and water cannons.