MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have reaffirmed the special system of relations that exists between the two countries, Russian Ambassador to Minsk Dmitry Mezentsev said Friday.
"The large-scale, extensive and substantial talks between the heads of states [Putin and Lukashenko] have confirmed the expected and what we are long used to, the special system of relations between the two brotherly nations," he said.
Mezentsev underlined that today "at the backdrop of the difficult stages that the country [Belarus] is going through" the confirmation by Putin at the talks that the relations are allied and brotherly is incredibly important and significant.
On Monday, Russia’s Sochi welcomed talks between the Russian and the Belarusian leaders which centered on the key topics of the bilateral relations.
Belarus held the presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his reelection with 80.10% of the votes, while his key rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya came second with 10.12% She rejected the results and later fled to neighboring Lithuania. Amid this background, the country plunged into mass protests, as people challenged the official results. In the first few days, demonstrations were coupled with clashes with the police. The recently created Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition is urging people to keep protesting. Meanwhile, authorities say that unlawful rallies need to stop.