MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has discussed the situation in Belarus, the Kremlin’s press-service said on Tuesday.
"Ahead of the European Union’s summit the current state of affairs in Belarus was discussed," the statement runs. "The Russian side expressed concern over attempts by a number of states to put pressure on the country’s leadership and destabilize the internal political situation. There was an expression of interest in preventing a confrontation scenario."
Belarus, which on August 9 held a presidential election, has seen more than a week of mass protest demonstrations against the official election returns. According to the Central Election Commission’s final statement Alexander Lukashenko emerged the winner with 80.1% of the votes. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was described as his main rival, was second with 10.12%. She has refused to recognize the official results. As soon as the election returns were announced, mass protest demonstrations began in Belarussian cities. In some cases, clashes with police occurred. The rallies have continued for about a week. According to the Interior Ministry several thousand have been detained. Dozens of police and demonstrators were injured.