Lukashenko Named Belarus the Only Russia's Ally

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Moscow does not want to “lose Belarus” either politically or economically, since this will inflict a “severe blow to Russia's domestic policy,” Belarusian President Lukashenko said. Belarus is Russia’s only ally in the current geopolitical situation, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Minsk region activists. The state television channel Belarus-1 showed fragments of the Belarusian leader speech on Sunday, June 28. According to Lukashenko, Moscow does not want to “lose Belarus”, first of all, politically. Such an outcome will be “a severe blow to Russia's domestic policy,” the Belarusian president emphasized. Lukashenko also identified the economic aspect in relations between the two countries. According to him, Belarus is the "second buyer of gas" from the Russian Federation after Germany and also "processes a huge amount" of Russian oil. Moreover, Belarus is " caught in a vice between these two giants" - the European Union and Russia, Lukashenko said. A few days earlier, he said that Moscow was trying to influence the presidential elections results scheduled for August 9. The Kremlin rejected Minsk’s allegations. Alexander Lukashenko has led Belarus since 1994. This is the longest tenure in an elected post among all European heads of state. Ahead of the election, a number of opposition activists and politicians were detained in the country. In Minsk and several other cities, actions were held in support of likely alternative candidates and previously detained activists that several hundred participants were detained in total.