The Belarusian opposition has no plans to close the state border with Russia. On August 26, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a presidential candidate in Belarus, spoke about this in an interview with the Polish portal Onet.
“There are voices that we want to close the borders with Russia, which is nonsense,” she said.
According to Tikhanovskaya, the goal of the Opposition Coordination Council is to start a dialogue with the current government to resolve the crisis in the country and hold new elections. Tikhanovskaya added that if she becomes president, she will not be involved in revising integration agreements with Russia.
“What will happen with these agreements will be decided by the future president, who will be elected in a new fair election,” Tikhanovskaya stressed.
The creation of a coordination council for the peaceful transfer of power in Belarus was initiated by Tikhanovskaya.
Lukashenka considered the creation of the opposition coordination council an attempt to seize power. He warned that the government will take “adequate measures” to “cool the hotheads.” A criminal case has been initiated into the creation of this body, Gazeta.ru notes.
On August 9, presidential elections were held in the republic, in which, according to official data, the incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko won, gaining more than 80% of the vote. After that, people who disagreed with the voting results took to the streets, and some enterprises, including the country’s largest production facilities, went on strike. Lukashenka, in turn, ordered to close the striking factories.
After the elections, Tikhanovskaya left Belarus and moved to Lithuania. At the same time, she stated that she was ready to become a national leader for her country.