MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Gaps in Belarusian society can be bridged only within the constitutional and legal framework and without interference from outside, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday after talks with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Of course, we discussed the situation around Belarus. Mrs Chancellor raised this topic," he said.
"We believe that contradictions inside Belarusian society can be settled only with the framework of the constitution and national laws by the Belarusians themselves, without interference from outside," Putin stressed.
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. 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.
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 demonstrations carried on for several months. The authorities repeatedly said that the protests had been orchestrated from abroad. Police continue to apprehend individuals suspected of participating in the unauthorized protests.