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The meeting is said to have lasted four hours and then Lukashenko sat at the same table as several members of the opposition coordinating council, which the authorities had previously declared illegal. This council includes people from the staff of opposition leader Svyatlana Tsichanouskaja.
Images published by the state news agency Belta show that at the round table is Viktar Babaryka, one of the presidential candidates who was prevented from participating in the elections and was arrested in his place, as was Lilia Vlasou, a member of the council and some other politicians arrested.
One of the few things that Belta announces that the talks have addressed changes to the Belarusian constitution.
During the conversation, Lukashenko is reported to have said, alluding to the massive protests of the past two months against the alleged rigged election on August 9:
– The constitution is not written on the street.
It is unusual and strange that the president of the country, who is not recognized by several foreign states, is in the KBG high-security prison and is arguing with imprisoned politicians about the future of the country. The Belarusian dictator has done nothing similar during his 26 years of rule.
One can speculate on the causes of the total reversal, from brutally beating protesters and jailing opposition figures to talking to them.
A clue can be found in the fact that one of the participants, Viktar Babaryka, is a person with good roots in Moscow. He is a former director of Belgazprombank, which is owned by the Russian gas giant Gazprom.
It may be that Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Lukashenko recently met in Sochi, is behind this meeting with Viktar Babaryka. It is worth noting that Putin in Sochi just mentioned a constitutional reform as a way out of the crisis in Belarus. And he also spoke of a “dialogue” in Belarus.
Read more: Diplomats leave Belarus at request
