Kremlin hasn't spoken to Belarusian opposition, expects situation around Maria Kolesnikova to be ‘cleared up’ – Putin's spokesman

The idea of Moscow having official contacts with representatives of the Belarusian opposition is completely out of the question, and no exchanges have taken place, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman told reporters on Tuesday.

“No, they did not have contacts [with Moscow]. By the decision of the Constitutional Court [of Belarus], the self-proclaimed body [the Belarusian opposition’s Coordination Council – TASS] was recognized as illegal, unconstitutional,” Dmitry Peskov replied when asked whether Belarusian opposition members had been able to establish contacts with the Kremlin. “That’s why in this case any contacts are out of the question, of course.”

Peskov also responded to questions about the reported abduction of opposition figurehead Maria Kolesnikova. She was one of a trio of women who led the protest movement opposing Lukashenko. The other two – Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo – have already left the country.

He said the Kremlin does not have sufficient knowledge of what happened to Kolesnikova but Moscow expects the situation to be cleared up. When commenting on reports about her alleged abduction, he said that “it is impossible to approve kidnapping but it should not be mixed with a legal detention. We don’t have detailed information on what happened to her because conflicting reports are coming in.”

READ MORE: 'Abducted' protest leader Kolesnikova 'ripped up passport' to prevent deportation from Belarus to Ukraine - conflicting reports

Referring to calls by Western countries and international organizations for the release of political prisoners in Belarus, Peskov emphasized the need to consider each case separately. “On the whole, we aren’t ready to recognize that there are political prisoners in Belarus,” he said, referring to the situation surrounding Kolesnikova, who was apparently formally detained at the Belarus-Ukraine border on Tuesday morning. Ukrainian sources suggested she had “ripped up” her passport to prevent a forced deportation.

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