Belarus moved police vans and barbed wire into the centre of the capital Minsk on Sunday ahead of a new mass demonstration called for the eve of crunch talks between President Alexander Lukashenko and his main ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Belarus moved police vans and barbed wire into the centre of the capital Minsk on Sunday ahead of a new mass demonstration called for the eve of crunch talks between President Alexander Lukashenko and his main ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Belarusian women attempt to block a police car with detained women at the protest against the presidential election results in Minsk on 12 September.On its websites and social media channels, the opposition has announced the slogan"We won't let him sell the country" ahead of Mr Lukashenko's first face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin since protests began, which is set to take place on Monday.
More than 600 people were detained last Sunday in one of the largest waves of arrests since the early days of the demonstrations. Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who the protest movement says won the vote on 9 August but was forced out of the country, paid tribute to all those who planned to take to the streets for Sunday's demonstration.
Ms Tikhanovskaya contested the election after her blogger husband was jailed and barred from running along with several other prominent Lukashenko critics. The unprecedented protests broke out after Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed re-election with 80 percent.On Friday, the United States said it would impose new sanctions on Belarusian figures within days and warned Moscow that continuing to back the strongman would only alienate Belarusians.
Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko are set to meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, with the Kremlin saying the talks will cover integration plans as well as key trade and energy projects.
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