Belarus eyes closer integration with Russia, fueling protest
Leaders of Russia and Belarus sat down for talks Saturday on deepening ties between the two allies — a meeting that triggered a protest in the Belarusian capital, The Associated Press reported.
More than 1,000 opposition demonstrators rallied in Minsk to protest closer integration with Russia, which they fear could erode the post-Soviet independence of the nation of 10 million.
The protesters marched across the Belarusian capital, chanting “No to integration” and “Belarus to Europe.”
As the source reported, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, on Russia’s Black Sea coast.
The two presidents are discussing economic agreements intended to bring the two ex-Soviet neighbors and allies even closer. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than a quarter-century, relies on cheap Russian energy and loans to maintain a Soviet-style economy.