KIEV, August 25. /TASS/. Ukraine will not interfere into the Belarussian elections as it is that country’s domestic affair, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Tuesday.
"I absolutely don’t want to meddle with the Belarusian elections and I will not do it. Ukraine will not interfere. It is their domestic affair," he said in an interview with Euronews.
However, he noted that if he were Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko he would organize rerun elections and invite international observers.
On August 9, Belarus held its sixth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. According to the final results of Sunday’s voting, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, won 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, scored 10.12% of votes. She did not recognize the voting results and soon left Belarus for Lithuania.
Mass protests and clashes with police took place in Minsk and other Belarusian cities after exit poll results were made public. As a result, some 7,000 people were detained, dozens of law enforcers and demonstrators were injured during the first days of protests. The opposition set up a coordination council, which calls for further protests. The authorities urge illegal actions be stopped.