MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Events in Belarus are the country’s domestic affair and a constitutional reform could be a solution to the crisis, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told reporters on Monday.
"All what is going on in Belarus is the domestic affair of Belarus," the diplomat said. "President [of Belarus Alexander] Lukashenko made it clear that the way out of the current situation could be launching a constitutional reform."
This political process should involve various social groups, including representatives of the opposition. "We proceed from this."
In comment on a TASS question whether the protests in the republic could end by late 2020, Rudenko said it’s up to Lukashenko to give an answer.
Nationwide demonstrations have engulfed Belarus following the August 9 presidential election. According to the Central Election Commission’s official results, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won by a landslide, garnering 80.10% of the vote. His closest rival in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, came in second, with 10.12% of the ballot. However, she refused to recognize the election’s outcome, and left Belarus for Lithuania. After the results of the exit polls were announced late on August 9, mass protests erupted in downtown Minsk and other Belarusian cities. During the early post-election period, the rallies snowballed into fierce clashes between the protesters and police. The current unrest is being cheered on by the opposition’s Coordination Council, which has been beating the drum for more protests. In response, the Belarusian authorities have castigated the ongoing turmoil and demanded that these unauthorized demonstrations be stopped.