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On Saturday, Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by phone.
Lukashenko is said to have pointed out to Pompeo his country’s close alliance with Russia. This is reported by the Russian news agency Tass, citing Belarusian state television.
Lukashenko had chosen himself as the winner after the presidential elections; the opposition accuses him of electoral fraud. Demonstrations against the ruler take place across the country for weeks.
In the phone call with Pompeo, Lukashenko is also said to have said that Russia and Belaraus are together to take action against external threats. At the same time, he stressed that Russia does not interfere in Belarusian affairs.
Pompeo, in turn, is said to have declared that the United States supported the independence of Belarus and wanted to further develop cooperation with Belarus.
The women’s protest continues
Meanwhile, hundreds of women demonstrated again in the center of the capital, Minsk, on Saturday. “Freedom for Belarus” could be read in the photos of the posters of the women’s march on the Telegram news channel. There were also protests in other cities.
Saturday has been firmly in the hands of women since the resistance against Lukashenko began about three months ago. He is seen as a driving force behind the uprising against “the last dictator in Europe,” as Lukashenko is called by his critics.
In the big rally on Sunday, this time everything is under the sign of a popular ultimatum from civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanowskaya. The 38-year-old had given Lukashenko the October 25 deadline to resign and clear the way for new elections. Lukashenko has released some prisoners from prison, but no further concessions are in sight.
Since the controversial presidential elections on August 9, there have been protests in the former Soviet republic because Lukashenko, after 26 years in power, was declared the winner with around 80 percent of the vote. The democratic movement claims the victory of Tichanovskaya.
