Belarusian opposition leader wants to meet with Putin
At a meeting with representatives of the Belarusian diaspora in Berlin, Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she would like to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin to understand why he supports Alexander Lukashenko, reports Tikhanovskaya's press service .
Mass protests have continued in Belarus for almost two months after the presidential elections on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, Alexander Lukashenko won with more than 80 percent of the votes, and his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received about 10 percent. The protests of those who are convinced of falsification of the voting results were suppressed by riot police and special forces. The security forces were showing unprecedented cruelty in dispersing the demonstrators.
In October, the European Union imposed sanctions on 40 officials from Belarus for rigging elections and repression against protesters. Among them are the head of the Interior Ministry of Belarus and his deputies, as well as the entire Central Election Commission. These persons on the list are forbidden to enter the European Union, and if they have assets in the territory of the association, they will be frozen.