People hold an old Belarusian National flag and gather at the place where Alexander Taraikovsky died amid the clashes protesting the election results, during his civil funeral in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Taraikovsky died Monday as demonstrators roiled the streets of the capital Minsk, denouncing official figures showing that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, had won a sixth term in office. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to provide protest-engulfed Belarus with security assistance to counter protests if the country requests it, the president of Belarus declared Saturday after more people took to the streets demanding that he resign.
Earlier, the 65-year-old Lukashenko on Saturday rejected suggestions that foreign mediators become involved in trying to resolve the country’s political crisis.
Later, in a meeting with Defense Ministry officials, Lukashenko declared “Listen — we have a normal country, founded on a constitution. We don’t need any foreign government, any sort of mediators.” He appeared to be referring to an offer from the leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to become involved.
Lukashenko’s main election opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, fled to Lithuania the day after the election, knowing that several previous presidential challengers have been jailed for years on charges that supporters say were trumped up.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that he was glad to see that some protesters in Belarus had been freed but that it was not enough. He also said the presidential election in Belarus fell short of democratic standards.
“Our common objective is to support the Belarusian people. These people are demanding the same things that every human being wants,” Pompeo said. “We urged the leadership to broaden the circle to engage with civil society.”
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