MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Outside actors seek to influence processes in Belarus for their own political gain, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his interview for Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"It is not about what is happening in Belarus; it is about someone wanting something else to happen there. They seek to influence these processes and to achieve some decisions which, as these people believe, conform to their political interests," Putin said.
The presidential election in Belarus took place on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, the incumbent Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was considered his main opponent, ended up second with 10.12% of votes. Tikhanovskaya refused to recognize the election results and left Belarus for the neighboring Lithuania shortly, where she remains to this day. Immediately after exit poll results were announced, mass protest rallies erupted in the country, which were initially accompanied by clashes between protesters and law enforcement forces. The Coordination Council of the opposition created in the republic is urging to continue the protests. The authorities state that unauthorized rallies must be stopped.