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Russia supports Lukashenko, but Belarusian election campaign is internal affair — Kremlin

"The most important aspect is not Russia’s support, but the choice that the people of our brotherly Belarus will make," Dmitry Peskov added

MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. The presidential election in Belarus is the country’s internal affair, although Russia supports the candidacy of incumbent leader Alexander Lukashenko, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We will definitely be following the developments of the election campaign very closely," he stated. "I am sure that everyone in Russia will support the candidacy of Alexander [Lukashenko]. There can be hardly any doubts about that."

At the same time, the Kremlin spokesman emphasized that "in any case, this is an absolutely internal affair of Belarus."

"The most important aspect is not Russia’s support, but the choice that the people of our brotherly Belarus will make," Peskov added.

Speaking about Alexander Lukashenko's decision to run in another presidential election, Peskov highlighted "how highly [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and many people in Russia appreciate his [Lukashenko’s] role in the development of Belarus as a sovereign state, as a state that participates in the State Union of Russia and Belarus - our closest ally."

"It is hard to overestimate Alexander [Lukashenko’s] role in the development of integration processes," Peskov said. "Everyone is undoubtedly aware of the particularly friendly and trusting relations between the leaders of our two countries."

On October 23, the House of Representatives (the lower house of the Belarusian parliament) scheduled the presidential elections for January 26, 2025. The country's leader, Alexander Lukashenko, confirmed his intention to run again in the presidential elections.

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Foreign policy Belarus Dmitry Peskov

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