During a meeting at the Strategic Management Center of the Ministry of Defense, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Russia, upon the first request, will help the republic in ensuring security in the event of external military threats. Lukashenka specified that he had agreed on this during a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin. 

“When it comes to the military component, we have an agreement with the Russian Federation within the framework of the Union State and the CSTO. These are the moments that fit this agreement. Therefore, today I had a long, detailed conversation with the President of Russia about the situation, ”he said.

“And we agreed with him: at our first request, comprehensive assistance will be provided to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus,” BelTA quotes Lukashenka.

He also said that the Belarusian authorities “will keep the situation” in the country, and “nothing will come of strikes and protests”.

“We will not give the country to anyone. I do not want to say that there is room for some kind of complacency, calmness. No, we never calmed down. You know, our life and destiny are that we, being in the center of Europe, must always be ready to respond to any challenges in time, ”Lukashenka said.

He also responded to the proposals received by a number of countries to act as mediators between the government and society to resume a peaceful dialogue.

“Listen, we have a normal government created by the constitution. We don't need any foreign governments, no intermediaries. It seems to me that, without offending the leadership of these republics, I want to say: you put things in order at your place, ”the president said.

Lukashenko also called on the opposition "not to play with fire" and not to try to threaten the security officials and their families, adding that the military have sufficient resources to protect themselves, their families and ensure security in the state.

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  • © Maxim Guchek / BelTA

“As president and commander-in-chief, I want to say that they are the ones who do this, those who troll today, threaten families, the children have reached the military - they simply do not understand what could happen,” the Belarusian president said.

In addition, he appealed to the demonstrators and demanded that those who want to “fight and fight” “be men and not put girls forward”.

Earlier on Saturday, during a meeting in Minsk, Lukashenko said that he wanted to contact Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss the situation in the republic with him. Lukashenko expressed the opinion that aggression is being developed against Belarus "in fact according to the scenario" and added that "this is already a threat not only to Belarus."

Later, a telephone conversation took place between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, during which the presidents expressed confidence in an early settlement of the problems that had arisen and confirmed their intention to strengthen allied relations.

The situation in Belarus

Protests in the republic began on the evening of August 9 after the announcement of the preliminary results of the presidential elections that took place that day, according to which the current leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, won. The rallies escalated into riots and clashes with the police. For almost a week, citizens, dissatisfied with the organization and the results of the elections, have continued to take to the streets.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, as a result of the riots from August 9 to 13, 121 police officers were injured, and the investigating authorities initiated over 90 criminal cases. More than 6.7 thousand protesters were detained. One protester - Alexander Taraikovsky - was killed.

The Investigative Committee of Belarus opened criminal cases under articles on attempted murder and violence against employees of the internal affairs bodies in connection with car raids on law enforcement officers during the protests. The department added that the owners of three cars have already been identified.

On Saturday afternoon, August 15, on Pushkin Avenue in Minsk, where Taraikovsky died, people began to gather with flowers and red and white balls, RT correspondent Konstantin Pridybailo said. 

“At 12 o'clock, Pritytskogo Street was blocked, and there was a minute of silence,” he said.

According to the correspondent, about five thousand people gathered for the commemorative action. Also, people with flowers and wreaths gathered on Olshevsky Street near the farewell hall.

At some point, those gathered on Pushkin Avenue began to disperse, but others came in their place.

“There are really a lot of people, there is no end or edge in sight. They are chanting “Long live Belarus!”, But in general the action is held practically without slogans. People just stand, clap, cars honk, ”Pridybailo said.

Also, protesters gathered at the building of the Belteleradiocompany in Minsk.

“Several hundred people gathered and shouted:“ Truth! ” People are not chanting political slogans, the main requirement is to tell the truth, to cover the events that are taking place more objectively, "the RT correspondent said.

According to RIA Novosti, press secretary of the President of Belarus Natalya Eismont and speaker of the upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament Natalya Kochanova arrived at the building of the radio company to communicate with the staff. According to company employees, the meeting was called urgently.

According to employees, at the meeting, in particular, they raised the issue of covering the protests after the elections in Belarus, when thousands of people were detained.

Later, the presenter and director of “Belarus 1” and “Belarus 3” Natalya Bibikova announced the readiness of employees of state TV channels to go on strike, but could not name the exact number of those.

Some employees of the TV and radio company, according to TASS, confirmed that they intend to start a strike on Monday, but have not yet decided on its form. According to company employees, Eismont and Kachalin were persuaded not to do this.