MINSK, October 22. /TASS/. There have been attempts to topple power in Belarus by unconstitutional methods with foreign influence on these processes being obvious, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Head Sergei Naryshkin said after a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.
"We see a striving to try to change the current system and the current political power by unconstitutional methods," Naryshkin said.
According to him, "the protest rallies [in Belarus] pose many questions to the authorities." "I think that the proposal of Alexander Lukashenko to launch a constitutional reform is one of the answers to these protest rallies and questions that are presented by a part of the society to the people in power," the intelligence chief noted.
Naryshkin believes that "it is clear that there is foreign influence [on the situation in Belarus - TASS]." "We see that in Russia as well. Our colleagues, officers of the Belarusian State Security Committee, see it too. This is not a selfless interest," he added. Naryshkin also underlined that it is important to maintain stability in Belarus for its development as a country. "The reform of the constitution, which was initiated, will answer many questions. However, it is vital to maintain [political] stability, it is an extremely important condition for the development of the state and the society," the intelligence chief concluded.
Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped.