Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied Moscow's contacts with members of the Belarusian opposition. TASS reports.
“He [a member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council of the Belarusian Opposition Pavel Latushko] claims that such contacts are being conducted, that they are coordinated, he says shamelessly that he cannot give names, but the contacts are at a sufficiently high level. (…) This is a complete lie, “Lavrov noted.
On November 19, Latushko sent an appeal to the Russian diplomatic missions with a proposal to hold bilateral meetings. In his opinion, Russia and the European Union should form a special mission capable of helping to resolve the political crisis in Belarus.
Earlier, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya spoke about a conversation with the leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. He noted that Moscow gives the floor to all parties, in contrast to Western countries.
On October 26, after Tikhanovskaya announced a general strike, a new surge of protest activity began in the country. The demands of the protesters have remained unchanged for almost four months: an end to the violence by the security forces and the resignation of the current president. President of the country Alexander Lukashenko does not think that he won the elections in August by deception, and also calls all reports of abuse of detainees and prisoners fakes. He called the events of recent weeks in the country a “terrorist war.”
