UNITED NATIONS, August 18. /TASS/. The internal situation in Belarus should not be a subject to UN Security Council discussions because only Belarusians themselves can resolve their domestic issues, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said following closed-doors UN Security Council consultations on Tuesday initiated by the US and Estonia.
"While indicating that it’s an internal issue of this country and not a matter to be discussed in Security Council, Russia stressed [at the meeting] that only Belorussians themselves should resolve the problems of their country without any foreign interference and meddling," the envoy wrote on his Twitter page.
"We also highlighted double standards of our Western colleagues who don’t bring to the Council similar post-election issues and cases of police brutality in their states and other countries," he added.
Belarus has been engulfed in mass protests since August 9 when the country held its presidential election, as people reject the official results of the vote, showing incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko securing his reelection. In the first days of unrest, the rallies were coupled with clashes between demonstrators and police officers. According to the national interior ministry, more than 6,000 people were detained, while dozens of police officers and protesters were wounded.
Official results of the Central Election Commission show incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko winning the election with 80.1% of the votes, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya came second with 10.12%