Belarus envoy declares solidarity with protesters

Post election protests have thrown the European country in turmoil with longtime president Lukashenko under pressure

MINSK:

The Belarus ambassador to Slovakia declared solidarity with protesters in Belarus, in an undated video posted by Nasha Niva media on Saturday, following a disputed election in his homeland.

“I stand in solidarity with those who came out on the streets of Belarusian cities with peaceful marches so that their voice could be heard. The Belarusians have achieved this right through suffering,” Igor Leshchenya, the envoy, said in the video. 

Meanwhile, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was under growing pressure on Sunday with rival protests due to converge on the capital a week after a contested presidential election that has thrown his country into turmoil.

Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, has faced down a week of street demonstrations and refused demands for a re-run of an election protesters say was massively rigged to disguise the fact that he has lost public support.

He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote.

Often emotional in state TV appearances, the 65-year-old leader has alleged a foreign-backed plot to topple him. He has also cited promised military support from Russian President Vladimir Putin if necessary, something the Kremlin has not confirmed.

Russia, which has had a troubled relationship with Lukashenko, is watching closely as Belarus hosts pipelines that carry Russian energy exports to the West and is also viewed by Moscow as a buffer zone against NATO.

The EU is gearing up to impose new sanctions on Belarus in response to a violent crackdown in which at least two protesters have been killed and thousands detained.

Protesters show no signs of backing down.