• Belarus. Armed forces on alert in the West. 2 thousand people in the demonstrations on Monday
  • Belarus, 150,000 in the streets against Lukashenko

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August 27, 2020Russia has formed, at the request of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, "reserve units of the security forces" ready to intervene. Vladimir Putin said this during an interview on TV. "Russian forces will not be deployed until extremist elements of Belarus cross the line, violence begins," Putin said. The Russian media reported it.

The Russian president said Moscow's stance on developments in Belarus is much more neutral than that of other countries. "In my opinion, our behavior in relation to events in Belarus is much more reserved and neutral than that of other European countries and the US," he said in a televised interview.

As for the arrest of 33 Russian citizens in Belarus, accused by Minsk of being Wagner mercenaries, it was an operation conducted by the Ukrainian and American secret services, Putin said. According to the Russian president, "they were not there to destabilize the situation in Belarus", "This was a joint operation of the Ukrainian and American intelligence agencies. This is known to a good level of certainty now. Some participants in this process, observers, well-informed people now do not even hide it ".

And Belarusian President Lukashenko raises the bar: "We are currently witnessing a phase of what, frankly, I would call a hybrid war against Belarus. How can I describe it otherwise? The mass media and the information space have been affected by this struggle. a war between the opposing sides. And the diplomatic massacre against us has begun, even at the highest level, "said Lukashenko, as reported by Interfax. The president noted that "unstable neighbors" of Belarus not only openly declare their position regarding the re-election in the country, but also begin to interfere in internal affairs, to put pressure on the authorities. "There is a diplomatic war", the Belarusian president underlined, adding that the country is now forced to spend a lot of money to stabilize the situation on the western borders, where some military units have been transferred. "Do you see these statements that if Belarus breaks up the Grodno region will go to Poland? They are already talking about it in public. They see it in their dreams. But they won't be able to do anything about it, I know for sure", thundered the Belarusian leader.

Putin, however, holds back: the Belarusian authorities must take into account the ongoing street protests, the Russian president said: "We believe that all participants in this process [the crisis in Belarus] will have enough common sense to find a way out with calm, without extremes ", but" naturally if people have taken to the streets, they must be taken into account, listened to, reacted ". According to Putin, "it is clear that there are internal problems in Belarus, otherwise people would not take to the streets". "Overall the situation is improving. I hope that all the problems - and it is clear that there are or people would not take to the streets - are resolved within the constitution, legally and peacefully," he said in the interview.

Meanwhile, Lukashenko said he had discussed the issue of refinancing Belarusian debt in the amount of $ 1 billion with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "We have agreed that today our Prime Minister will hold talks with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on refinancing," said Lukashenko, according to Ria Novosti. As Lukashenko explained, it is a question of refinancing $ 1 billion of Belarus' debt this year. "That is to say that we will keep this billion dollars in our country. And it will be a good strengthening of our national currency," he added.

NATO with Belarus
"We are watching developments in Belarus very closely. A crisis occurring on our borders. Obviously it is up to the Belarusian people to decide their future. All NATO partners support an independent Belarus." This was stated by NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, in Berlin, on the sidelines of a bilateral meeting with Angela Merkel, reiterating that there is "no pretext for external measures, which would be completely unjustified".

Di Maio hopes for dialogue
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio had a telephone conversation with his Belarusian counterpart, Vladimir Makei, focusing on the current political situation in Belarus. This was reported by the Farnesina in a note. Minister Di Maio underlined that Italy is following the events in Belarus with attention and concern and is committed together with the European Union to lower tensions and try to prevent further repression against the population, especially peaceful demonstrators. He then stressed the importance of free and fair elections. The head of the Farnesina reiterated to his interlocutor that Italy hopes that an authentic and constructive dialogue can develop between President Lukashenko and the opposition, in which the legitimate aspirations of Belarusian citizens are recognized and which will allow for a sustainable solution to be found for the good of the country starting from measures such as the release of political prisoners.