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Putin and Lukashenko in June 2020: According to the Kremlin, no journalists are allowed to attend the talks in Sochi
Photo:
Mikhail Klimentyev / dpa
Internationally, the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko no longer has many allies.
But he could rely on Russian President Vladimir Putin when there were mass demonstrations against Lukashenko after the presidential elections in August.
Now Putin receives the Belarusian ruler for talks.
The meeting in Sochi, Russia, is the third of the two in the past four months.
This time, however, private talks were planned; according to the Kremlin, no journalists were allowed.
Lukashenko left Belarus for the first time since the election.
He also wants to negotiate a new gas price and debt with Putin.
Belarus is economically dependent on Russia.
The talks in Sochi are overshadowed by numerous new arrests in Belarus.
Belarusian police arrested 774 people on Sunday in mass protests across the country.
The Interior Ministry announced on Monday that 500 of them were taken into custody in the capital Minsk.
At least 100,000 people demonstrated against Lukashenko in Minsk and demanded the release of prisoners of the opposition.
There have been protests in Belarus since Lukashenko declared himself the election winner in early August.
Neither the European Union nor the USA recognize the result officially mentioned.
Critics accuse Lukashenko of electoral fraud and demand his resignation.
He denies the allegations and has said that foreign forces are behind the protests.
The democracy movement sees the opposition candidate Svetlana Tichanovskaya as the winner of the election.
Putin did not recognize this and congratulated Lukashenko on the victory.
Economic aid from Russia could help Lukashenko
In Sochi, Lukashenko is trying to get support from his powerful neighbor Russia.
Economic and military aid from Russia could help Lukashenko stay in power.
Putin's reaction so far suggests that he does not want Lukashenko to be overthrown.
In August Putin announced that, at Lukashenko's request, he had provided reserve police forces that could be deployed if necessary.
This Monday, Russia also wants to send specialists from a paratrooper division to Belarus.
They are to hold exercises together with the local military until September 25th and then return to Russia.
In addition, Russia has offered to reallocate Belarusian debt and support the banking system.
The price Belarus would have to pay for such aid would be a greater influence on Russia
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asc / dpa / AFP