MOSCOW — The leaders of Russia and Belarus moved Friday to mend a rift caused by Belarusian authorities’ arrest of 33 Russian security contractors on charges of planning to foment unrest ahead of the country’s presidential election.
Belarusian authorities accused the Russian contractors of planning to instigate mass riots as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko contends with significant opposition protests as he seeks a sixth term in Sunday’s election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko spoke by phone Friday, their first conversation since the Russians’ were arrested on July 29 outside Belarus’s capital of Minsk. The Kremlin said the two leaders “voiced confidence …read more
Source:: National Newswatch
