MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Belarus’ opposition is unlikely to stage large-scale protests during the referendum on constitutional amendments, Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky, a senior research fellow of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) and an expert of the Valdai international discussion club, told TASS on Friday.

"Some protests are not ruled out after the constitutional referendum but they will not be of large scale. Should the referendum be organized in several months or, say, in 2023, people would somewhat relax and some new opposition groups might be formed. Now, there are no protest structures in Belarus," he said.

According to the expert, street protests are not seen as an effective measure by most of Belarusians. President Alexander Lukashenko’s principled opponents will postpone protests to a later date, he forecasted. However, Belarusian opposition activists living abroad will stage an information campaign against the new constitution in the internet, he said, adding that he doesn’t think that Lukashenko was forced to initiate constitutional amendments by street protests.

"I would not say that Lukashenko initiated amendments to the constitution because it was the protesters’ demand. Lukashenko is not a man to implement demands worded as an ultimatum. Naturally, it was not the case with the amendments," he noted.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday signed a decree on organizing a national referendum on constitutional amendments on February 27.