Russia warns France, Germany not to interfere in Belarus

Russian President Vladimir Putin warns world leaders against interfering in Belarus.

The country is engulfed in the political crisis, as protests against its elected leader continued to mount.

Russian President Putin, on Wednesday, spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel in separate phone calls and said that any such attempts would lead to an escalation of the political crisis in Belarus.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, more number of state-controlled companies and factories joined the strike that began the day before.

The protests encircled several major tractor factories in Minsk, which is a huge potash factory in Soligorsk.

Minsk accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash fertilizer output which is the nation’s highest cash earner.

Cause of Protests-President Lukashenko is accused of massive election fraud.

The protests began after the August 9 Presidential election results, that handed President Alexander Lukashenko -who has kept a tight rein on the country for more than a quarter-century, his sixth term.

Sources report 80 percent of the votes to Lukashenko while his top challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya apparently received only 10 percent.

The embattled Belarus government came under increasing pressure Tuesday as demonstrations sparked amid widespread protests against the massive election fraud.

Since then, the country’s security forces have taken a heavy hand with the protesters.

The ruling government has acknowledged that some 7,000 people have been arrested and about 2,000 have since been released.

As per the source, Lukashenko signed an order awarding 300 medals to law enforcement “for impeccable service” during the crackdown, on Tuesday.

“Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Saturday that Russia’s Vladimir Putin has offered to help ensure the country’s security, as opposition protesters kept up the pressure on the veteran leader over his claim to have won re-election”, tweeted SBS News.

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News review in Short

• Some thousand People gathered to protest against the August 9 Presidential election result, that gives present President Alexander Lukashenko his consecutive sixth term.

• Lukashenko is accussed of massive election fraud as he received 80 percent vote while his top rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, received only 10 percent.

• The crenelated government put a hard hands with the protesters, the video of which is being viral on social media showing the inhuman torture in the jail.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with the French and German representatives, separately on phone, and warns no to interfere in the Belarus crisis.

Terms Used in the Article & their possible meanings

• Meddling : intrusive or unwarranted interference
• Escalation : An increase in the intensity of a diplomatic confrontation
• Impeccible service : free from fault; not capable of sinning; flawless
• Crenelated : embattled ; fortified
• Embattled : at war ; fighting