Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about the calm attitude of Moscow and Minsk to attempts to intervene from the West. He is quoted by RIA Novosti.
According to the Russian minister, the United States and the European Union are trying to influence internal processes in the countries. The diplomat stressed that Western leaders do not even hide this. At the same time, he assured that Russia and Belarus “have something to defend themselves with.”
Lavrov is on a visit to Minsk, he has already held a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has previously stressed the desire to maintain close cooperation with Russia. He added that many in Russia did not want to emphasize his words about the desire of Belarus to develop cooperation between the two countries.
Throughout 2019 and the first half of 2020, before the presidential elections, which triggered the start of mass protests in Belarus, Lukashenka repeatedly declared the need to pursue a multi-vector policy and build an independent country. He regularly complained about the “imperial manners” of Russia, criticizing the integration project within the framework of the Union State.
However, in early September, when negotiations began with the Russian leadership over protests in Belarus, gas and oil prices, and a $ 1.5 billion loan, Lukashenko said that the expansion of cooperation with the EU and the United States was the result of a misunderstanding on the part of Russia. “I had to save the country, I had to survive, while I was not understood,” he said.
In Belarus, for the fourth month, mass protests continue, which began after the presidential elections on August 9. According to official results, Lukashenko, who ran for a sixth term, received 80 percent of the vote. The opposition considers the elections to be rigged.
