Lukashenko's spokeswoman says Belarusian President asked Putin to tell Merkel not to interfere in country's internal affairs

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to convey to German Chancellor Angela Merkel a request not to interfere in Belarus’ internal affairs, his spokesperson has told Russian TV.

At this point, the Belarusian president does not see the need for a conversation with his German counterpart directly, his spokeswoman Natalya Eismont told the Russia-1 channel on Wednesday.

It’s not clear what the outcome of such a conversation between the two would be, she said, but “most likely, negative, because today the main thing we want is for the West not to support those who are destabilizing the situation in Belarus.”

Lukashenko asked his Russian counterpart to convey the message to Merkel “so that Germany, as well as the whole of Western Europe, does not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus, as is happening now,” she added.

Lukashenko is coordinating with Putin on his actions inside the parameters of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Eismont said.

The German government said on Monday that Merkel had not spoken by telephone with Lukashenko since the August 9 presidential election in Belarus. The statement came after Lukashenko said Merkel had called on Sunday asking to talk. “Such a conversation between Merkel and Lukashenko has not taken place since the elections,” a spokesman told Reuters.

On Tuesday, Putin had phone calls with Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the situation in Belarus.

Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the chancellor had “underlined that the Belarusian government must refrain from violence against peaceful protesters, immediately release political prisoners and enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and [civil] society to overcome the crisis.”

Putin told Merkel that any attempts to interfere in the domestic affairs of Belarus would be unacceptable, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. Any such effort would lead to an escalation of the political crisis in Belarus, he cautioned.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!