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“We see unreasonable Western pressure on both Belarus and Russia. I am pleased to say that these days in Minsk, the heads of government and representatives of the CIS countries have unanimously expressed their support for the people of Belarus in these difficult times.” Lebedev told the state news agency BelTA.
“We have always supported each other and will continue to support each other. Our strength lies in the unity of the Commonwealth. Therefore, this unit needs to be strengthened and protected,” he emphasized.
Mr. Lebedev also thanked Belarusian officials for their active participation in the integration processes of the bloc of former Soviet republics.
“Thank you, dear Belarusian friends, for being the locomotive of our integration cooperation in the CIS,” Lebedev said.
The day before, a meeting of the CIS prime ministers took place in Minsk; it included economic, health and police cooperation agreements.
Following the August presidential elections, which the opposition and western democracies consider rigged, Belarus has been plagued by unprecedented mass protests for months. The winner of that vote was authoritarian leader Aliaksandr Lukashenko, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly three decades.
Tensions in relations between western Belarus escalated after Lukashenko ordered last weekend to send a fighter jet to take control of a Ryanair liner from Athens to Vilnius, carrying wanted dissident journalist Ramanas Pratasevičius and her friend Sofija Sapega, who lives in Vilnius. Both were detained after the plane landed.
Following the incident, EU members closed their airspace to Belarusian planes and decided to stop flying over the country.
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