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PRESIDENTS: Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko pictured in the stands during the 2019 European Games. Photo: Vasily Fedosenko / X00829
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman will say nothing about how much force the Russians have for possible use in Belarus, or how they are armed.
On Friday, spokesman Dmitry Peskov also did not respond whether it might be relevant to defend the Belarusian people, if the Belarusian police forces continue to use violence against protesters.
It was President Vladimir Putin himself who, in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel, said that Russia had prepared a police force that could enter Belarus.
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“It will be used if extremists hiding behind political slogans cross certain borders and start looting, setting fire to cars, houses, banks and trying to take control of public buildings, etc.,” President Putin said on Thursday.
He also said that the force was established at the request of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and that it is not expected to be necessary to use it.
On Friday, spokesman Peskov received new questions from Russian journalists. It did not say either where the force was recruited from in Russia’s diverse police system, how big it is or how it is armed, the Tass news agency reports.
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“In an emergency, the force must be able to prevent extreme actions in Belarus,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesman reiterated Putin’s statement that they did not expect the Belarusian police force to be used.
– This is a reservation and is not necessary. We assume that there will not be such an extreme situation in Belarus, said Dmitry Peskov.
He also expressed confidence that relations between Russians and Belarusians would not be affected if Russia sent the reserve to Belarus.
“Russia will not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus,” Peskov said.
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But when asked whether this force would defend ordinary citizens if they were subjected to violence by the Belarusian police, he did not reply. He called it a hypothetical question.
However, Peskov said the Belarusian authorities “are not involved in extremist actions.” He also said that Russia was “absolutely neutral” in relation to what was happening in Belarus.
EU foreign ministers have agreed to impose sanctions on up to 20 Belarusian leaders for election fraud and post-election violence.
According to the Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek, it is natural that President Alexander Lukashenko is also on the sanctions list.
On Friday, Lukashenko reacted angrily to threats from neighboring Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members, of sanctions against Belarus.
– We will show you what sanctions are, said the President of Belarus according to fontanka.ru and rbc.ru.
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– Lithuania receives 30 percent of its budget income from Belarusian products shipped through its territory. Now I have asked the government to reorganize our transport so that it bypasses the Lithuanian ports.
Top Lithuanian politician Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen tells VG that it is important for Lithuania to defend the people of the neighboring country.
– It is similar to what we went through 30 years ago with the Soviet Union. What is happening in Belarus has hit a sore spot here. We want to defend the people of Belarus and support our neighbors. Lithuania was one of the first nations to say that we did not approve the results of the presidential elections, Čmilytė-Nielsen tells VG.
According to the official electoral commission, Alexander Lukashenko received 80 percent of the votes. Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya claims that she won the elections:
