Merkel raises Belarusian issue in Moscow. Putin warns against ‘interference from outside’
On August 20, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held the talks in Moscow. Among other things, the Belarusian issue was raised, news agency TASS reports.
According to its information, It is Chancellor Merkel who touched upon the situation in Belarus during Friday’s meeting. In turn, Putin expressed the opinion that Belarusians should address their own problems and concerns without outside intervention.
“We believe that contradictions inside Belarusian society can be settled only with the framework of the constitution and national laws by the Belarusians themselves, without interference from outside,” TASS quotes Putin.
Notably, it is an open secret that he is the one who has been lending financial and political support to Alyaksandr Lukashenka for years.
The German leader also broached the subject of the current migration crisi at the Belarus-EU border.
“I strongly condemn the use of people who have got into trouble as a hybrid weapon,” she stressed.
When talking about the armed conflict in Ukraine, Merkel said that Germany supports the territorial integrity of the country. She also called for the extension of the Russia-Ukraine agreement on the transit of Russian gas; Putin asked her to use her influence on Kyiv in this matter.
Discussing the domestic situation in Russia, Merkel called the sentence imposed on opposition politician Alexei Navalny ‘unacceptable’ and urged the Kremlin to release him.
“As far as the person you’ve mentioned is concerned, he is convicted not of his political activity, but of a criminal offense against foreign partners, When it comes to political activity, nobody should try to use political activity as a cover for business projects, let alone those involving legal violations,” Putin answered.
In addition, he asked Angela Merkel to treat the decisions by the Russian judicial authorities ‘with respect’.
belsat.eu
