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170 people with fake documents banned entry to Belarus - Lukashenko

There were Russians and Ukrainians among these 170 people, President said

MINSK, August 9. /TASS/. Belarus banned entry for 170 people on Sunday, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters after casting his vote.

"We banned entry to 170 people just this night and in the morning. They either showed fake visas or were unable to explain why they are coming. <...> There were people whom we had expelled from the country. There were Russians and Ukrainians among these 170 people. Most of them were from Ukraine and Poland," he said.

Meanwhile, Lukashenko explained that given the recent events Belarus stepped up monitoring in the Belarusian-Russian border area, but control was not tightened.

Belarus is holding its sixth presidential election since declaring independence in 1991. The incumbent head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, 65, is seeking his sixth term in office. Other candidates are co-leader of the Govori Pravdu (Tell the Truth) public movement Andrei Dmitriyev, former member of the lower parliament house Anna Kanopatskaya, housewife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, and leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Gramada Sergei Cherchen.