Belarus and Ukraine have agreed to strengthen the border regime on the joint border in order to prevent the situation from destabilizing against the background of the election campaign in the republic. This was announced on Thursday, July 30, by the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry.
“Pay attention to <…> holding an election campaign in Belarus at the moment, an agreement has been reached with the Ukrainian side to intensify interaction between border agencies and strengthen the border regime in order to prevent destabilization of the situation in both countries, ”the statement says.
On the evening of July 14, rallies were held in Minsk and other cities of Belarus in support of those unregistered as presidential candidates. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, over 250 protesters were detained in Minsk.
The presidential elections in Belarus will be held on August 9. The Central Election Commission decided to register five people as candidates (Andrei Dmitriev, Anna Kanopatskaya, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Sergei Cherechen). Two applicants – Viktor Babariko and Valery Tsepkalo – were denied registration.
On July 19, the incumbent head of state said that his opponents were developing a plan for a forceful regime to overthrow the government, and recalled how similar attempts at destabilization had already been made in the country’s history.