Russia has set up a " reserve " of law enforcement agencies to intervene in Belarus, should the situation degenerate. Interviewed on the Rossiya state channel, Vladimir Putin made it clear Wednesday that under the agreements with Minsk, Russian troops, the nature and number of which have not been specified, would be sent to "protect sovereignty and stability ” of the Belarusian neighbor, in the grip of massive demonstrations since the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko on August 9.
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However, these forces will only be used to prevent "extremists from stealing, setting fire to cars, houses, banks, administrative buildings," said the head of the Kremlin. He assured "from the assumption that the crisis will be resolved peacefully . "
Exasperation and impatience
During this strictly marked interview - the Navalny affair was not even mentioned - journalist Sergei Briliov seemed somewhat taken aback when Putin hired the Belarusian security forces for
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