The President of Belarus, the target of six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation, announced today that he will put troops on high alert and close the country’s borders with Poland and Lithuania.
Alexander Lukashenko’s decision reinforces the repeated message that the wave of protests is driven by the West, as it faces harsh criticism from the European Union and the United States.
“We are forced to withdraw troops from the street, put the army on high alert and close the borders in the west, mainly with Lithuania and Poland,” said Lukashenko, in an official women’s forum held in Minsk. Lukashenko also said that the Belarusian border with Ukraine will be strengthened.
“I don’t want my country to be at war. Furthermore, I do not want Belarus, Poland and Lithuania to become a theater of military operations in which our problems will not be solved, ”he said.
“So from now on, in front of this most beautiful, advanced and patriotic people’s hall, I want to appeal to the people of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine: stop your crazy politicians, don’t let the war begin,” he said.
Lukashenko did not mention neighboring Latvia, which, like Poland and Lithuania, are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). At the same forum, Lukashenko said that Belarus does not need any country to recognize its elections, in response to the European Parliament resolution, which does not accept the results of the August 9 presidential elections, which Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote and that started a wave of protests.
“We conducted the elections in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of our country and we don’t need anyone’s recognition. The elections were held and are legitimate ”, he declared, according to the BELTA agency.
In today’s session, the European Parliament agreed that it will fail to recognize Lukashenko as President when the current term ends, on November 5, after elections that “violate all international standards” and asked the European Union to impose sanctions on the president.
“I swear there was no lie in the elections. It is impossible to fake 80% of the elections, ”added Lukashenko. Also on Thursday, the spokesman for the head of European diplomacy announced that Belarusian opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaia is expected on Monday in Brussels for a meeting with European Union foreign ministers.
The opponent announced that it is preparing a list of members of the regime’s security forces responsible for the violence and arbitrary arrests, with a view to possible prosecution in the future.
Belarus has been the scene of several demonstrations since August 9, when Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth presidential term, in elections considered fraudulent by the opposition and part of the international community.
In the early days of protests, the police detained about 7,000 people and cracked down hundreds in a muscular manner, sparking international protests and the threat of sanctions.
The United States, the European Union and several neighboring countries in Belarus rejected Lukashenko’s recent electoral victory and condemned police repression, urging Minsk to establish a dialogue with the opposition.
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