More than 1,000 opposition demonstrators are rallying in Belarus to protest closer integration with Russia as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Protesters hold a banner during a rally in downtown Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. More than 1,000 opposition demonstrators are rallying in Belarus to protest closer integration with Russia. Saturday's protest in the Belarusian capital comes as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast.
The protesters marched across the Belarusian capital, chanting “No to integration” and “Belarus to Europe.” The Kremlin has recently cranked up pressure on Belarus, raising energy prices and cutting subsidies. Russian officials noted that Minsk should accept closer economic integration if it wants to benefit from lower energy prices.
There also has been speculation that Putin, who has been in power for nearly two decades, could contemplate a merger with Belarus as a way to stay at the helm of the union state of Russia and Belarus after his current presidential term expires in 2024.Lukashenko has bristled at the Russian pressure, charging that some Russian officials want to push Belarus into weakening its sovereignty.
The protest wasn’t sanctioned by the authorities, but police allowed the demonstrators to march across downtown Minsk. There were some minor scuffles between plainclothes police agents and demonstrators, but police then let the protest proceed.
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