MINSK, September 14. /TASS/. Former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya believes that it is President Alexander Lukashenko and not the Belarusian people who should pay back the $1.5 bln loan Moscow intends to grant to Minsk.

"I hope that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands that it is Lukashenko, and not our people, who will have to give back this loan," Tikhanovskaya wrote in her Telegram channel.

On Monday, Alexander Lukashenko flew to Sochi for the first time after the presidential elections in Belarus, where he met with the Russian leader. At the meeting, Putin said that Russia is ready to provide Belarus with a state loan worth $1.5 bln.

Belarus held its presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission’s data, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote, while Svetlana Tikhanovskaya garnered 10.12%. She did not recognize the results of the vote. After the election, she left for Lithuania. Protests erupted in the country's capital of Minsk and several other cities following the presidential vote, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers. The opposition set up the Coordination Council for the transition of power in the country, calling on protesters to continue demonstrations.