Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visits Vladimir Putin

Alexander Lukashenko upon his arrival in Sochi, September 14, 2020. REUTERS

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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is visiting Vladimir Putin today.

The two leaders meet in Sochi on the Black Sea in southern Russia.

The Belarusian president comes to seek support from his big neighbor, while he is unable to overcome an unprecedented protest movement, which has not weakened since the presidential election of August 9.

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The meeting in Sochi between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko takes place the day after another Sunday of

and in several other cities of Belarus.

Despite the increasing number of arrests, the movement shows no sign of running out of steam and its decentralized nature destabilizes the authorities.

Lukashenko in an awkward position

Alexander Lukashenko, even if he continues to speak in a brave tone, finds himself in an awkward position and has become completely dependent on Moscow.

The Belarusian president arrived in Sochi alone, without a minister, for a tête-à-tête with Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin said there would be no press conference after the interview, nor any signed document.

This is the first time since the start of the crisis that the two leaders have seen each other.

Moscow is pushing for greater integration between the two countries.

If just before the presidential election Alexander Lukashenko accused Russia of supporting the opposition, and of seeking to vassalize his country, he changed his speech under the pressure of events and today presents himself as the last bulwark of Russia in the face of a western offensive.

On Telegram, the figure of the opposition, exiled in Lithuania,

, regrets that Vladimir Poutine has decided to dialogue with a “ 

” rather than with the Belarusian people.

► See also: Belarus: tens of thousands of demonstrators in Minsk, 400 arrests

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• Alexander Lukashenko

• Vladimir Poutine

• Russia

• Belarus

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