MINSK, May 26. /TASS/. Belarus has come under unprecedented pressure and is facing "multifaceted and multi-level terror" in the wake of events following the 2020 presidential election, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told MPs, members of the Constitutional Commission, and representatives of state administrative bodies at a Wednesday meeting.

"The modern world is facing a new challenge. The pandemic does not only kill people, but it also warps the mind. It is reshaping the entire system of the world order and breaking down the existing economic and logistical ties. I will tell you even more. Under the guise of this, world powers are revamping spheres of influence and the voices of medium and small states are of no interest to anyone. Issues are sorted out primarily at the expense of the well-being and national interests of these small and mid-sized nations. Throughout 2020, Belarus came under unprecedented pressure. You have witnessed this. No other country in the world has faced such multifaceted and multi-level terror," the Belarus Segodnya newspaper quotes Lukashenko as saying.

Nationwide demonstrations engulfed Belarus following the presidential election held on August 9, 2020. 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 the police.