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A woman interacts with a Belarusian law enforcement officer near the site where a protester died on August 10 during a rally following the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus August 11, 2020 - Sputnik International

Live Updates: Belarusian Interior Minister Takes Apologises for Random People Hurt at Protests

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Belarus has been rocked by mass protests since the presidential vote saw incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, secure his sixth term by a landslide - a victory rejected by the opposition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not currently plan to hold a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin stated on Thursday, refuting claims spread on social media.

"There is no such meeting on schedule", the Kremlin said.

Some Telegram channels have recently reported, citing sources, that Lukashenko is heading to Moscow for urgent talks with Putin amid the violent protests in Belarus.

Unauthorised mass protests have been going on in Belarus since Sunday evening, when the first election results showed President Alexander Lukashenko securing his sixth term with over 80 percent of the vote, and the opposition challenged the outcome.

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22:38 GMT 13.08.2020

All people taken into custody during protests in Minsk are to be released by Friday morning, a Sputnik correspondent reported, citing Belarusian deputy interior minister.

20:45 GMT 13.08.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Chairperson of the Belarusian Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova said on Thursday that Belarus does not need a war and called on people to refrain from participating in unauthorized demonstrations and violent riots.

"Obviously, we all do not need a fight, we do not need a war. Minsk had always been quiet and calm. Let's stop self-destruction, we must not destroy with our own hands everything that we have created during the years of independence of our country," Kochanova told Belarus-1 state-owned television channel.

According to the chairperson, more than 1,000 people have so far been released under the obligation not to participate in unauthorized events, and minors were handed over to their parents.

19:18 GMT 13.08.2020

ROME (Sputnik) - Ivan Scalfarotto, the Italian undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, expressed on Thursday concerns over the situation in Belarus and urged the country's authorities to immediately stop violence and initiate a dialogue with the opposition.

Scalfarotto's remarks come ahead of an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers called to discuss the potential of levying sanctions on Minsk amid protests in Belarus.

"The government's repression must be stopped immediately, and the end of violence must be followed by the beginning of a dialogue with the opposition and civil society," Scalfarotto said in a statement obtained by Sputnik.

According to him, the European Union cannot remain indifferent to violations of human rights and freedoms.

Earlier in the day, EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Minsk to prevent force being used against protesters and to release all those who had been detained in the demonstrations to date.

18:58 GMT 13.08.2020

"On 14 August, the consular section of the Embassy will not receive citizens for technical reasons. We apologise for any inconvenience caused", the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy did not give a date for when the consulate will reopen.

18:55 GMT 13.08.2020

Belarusian Ambassador in Berlin Denis Sidorenko was summoned to the German Foreign Ministry, the BILD tabloid said on Thursday evening.

According to BILD, the ministry presented to him the position of Germany on the course of the presidential election in Belarus.

18:31 GMT 13.08.2020

"I take responsibility and apologize for the injuries of random people at protests", Belarusian Interior Minister Yuri Karayev told the state-run broadcaster ONT.

Karayev also said that in three days, there had been 11 cases of car ramming attacks on police officers, which, in fact, is attempted murder.

"In three days, 11 deliberate assaults on law enforcement officers were made. In fact, this is attempted murder. Imagine what a response the comrades of these servicemen have!" he said.

14:27 GMT 13.08.2020
14:13 GMT 13.08.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is concerned over the situation in Belarus, which has seen several days of protests after the presidential election, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said Thursday.

"We are concerned over the information about incidents of breach of public order in the streets of some Belarusian cities after the presidential election", Zakharova said.

Moscow hopes that the situation will stabilise soon, the spokeswoman said.

"We can see unprecedented pressure put on the Belarusian authorities by some foreign partners. There are some clear attempts to interfere in the affairs of a sovereign state in order to divide the society and destabilise", Zakharova told a briefing.

Any attempts to find a "Russian trace" in the organisation of the unrest in Belarus are groundless, the spokeswoman said.

11:16 GMT 13.08.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Employees from the Belarusian truck maker BelAZ in the city of Zhodzina, one of the largest factories in the country, have gone on an unauthorised strike, demanding nationwide industrial action.

The company's press service refuted any disruptions but said that management and the city administration were holding a meeting with the employees.

11:06 GMT 13.08.2020
11:00 GMT 13.08.2020
10:56 GMT 13.08.2020

MINSK (Sputnik) - Several groups of Belarusian pro-opposition protesters have resumed rallies in the centre of Minsk after three days of unrest following a controversial presidential election.

There is a large group marching toward the city centre along Independence Avenue, one of the epicentres of the Minsk protests. It is composed predominantly of women wearing white and carrying flowers.

Several other groups are approaching the avenue to possibly join the rally.

10:46 GMT 13.08.2020
10:32 GMT 13.08.2020
10:14 GMT 13.08.2020

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko got 64.49 percent of the vote in Minsk in his bid for re-election, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 14.92 percent in the capital, preliminary data from the Central Electoral commission showed Thursday.

In the Mogilev Region, Lukashenko received 88.06 percent of the vote, Tikhanovskaya 4.73 percent; in the Minsk Region Lukashenko got 79.23 percent, Tikhanovskaya 11.81 percent; in the Grodno Region, Lukashenko had 78.72 percent, Tikhanovskaya 13.81 percent, in the Gomel Region, Lukashenko had 85.38 percent, Tikhanovskaya 5.98 percent; in the Vitebsk Region, Lukashenko received 83.64 percent, Tikhanovskaya 9.18 percent; in the Brest Region, Lukashenko had 81.78 percent, Tikhanovskaya, 10.33 percent.

08:55 GMT 13.08.2020

"As for the session of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk and the Minsk process in general, I am sure that the process will not be stalled. The next meeting is planned for 18 August, this will be a meeting in a new format, chaired by Leonid Kravchuk [the new head of Kiev's delegation]", Zelensky told reporters, when asked if the Contact Group had been affected by the protests in Belarus.

08:09 GMT 13.08.2020

"The Interior Ministry continues to implement the necessary measures to protect public order and guarantee social security in the country within its competence. Around 700 people were detained [on Wednesday] for taking part in unauthorised mass events", the ministry wrote on Telegram.

The ministry also pointed to protesters' aggressive behaviour.

"Involvement in unrest across the country is decreasing, but the level of aggression against law enforcement agents remains high. From 9-13 August, as many as 103 law enforcement agents were injured as a result of protesters' misconduct. Twenty-eight of them have been hospitalised", the ministry added.

08:06 GMT 13.08.2020

"According to the investigators, the unrest did not happen on the spur of the moment — trained people were coordinating and managing citizens", the investigative committee said.

The investigators called on witnesses to provide any videos or photos of instigators to them.

07:43 GMT 13.08.2020

"I do not think it would be a proper topic for the North Atlantic alliance", Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told Polish Radio, when asked whether NATO should interfere.

The minister also noted that Belarus could need "brotherly support" in the wake of the unrest, recalling that the Polish and Lithuanian presidents have already expressed a willingness to mediate Belarus' talks with the European Union.

07:35 GMT 13.08.2020
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