US First Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Bigan, on behalf of the State Department, denied accusations of managing the Belarusian protests. According to the diplomat, the protests indicate that the people of Belarus are against President Alexander Lukashenko. RIA Novosti reported this with reference to a telephone press briefing.
“We are not going to manage or control the opposition. Indeed, this is not our business, ”the agency quotes Bigana as saying.
The politician also stressed that the protests are evidence that the people of Belarus reject Lukashenko, who is not supported by the Russians either. In this regard, he called on the Russian side to support the fight against the permanent president of Belarus and pointed out that the former Soviet republic is not a field for competition between the United States and Russia.
On September 9, the parliament of Belarus announced that relations with countries that support the Belarusian protests could be revised. Prior to that, in August, the head of the republic said that the West was openly funding mass protests in the country.
After the presidential elections in Belarus, in which, according to the CEC, Lukashenko won 80 percent of the vote, massive protests began. Demonstrators demand the resignation of the president of the country and the holding of fair elections; clashes with the security forces occurred, during which dozens of people were injured.
