Russian FM Lavrov Says PM Mishustin To Visit Belarus On Sep 3

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Minsk, Belarus on September 3 while speaking at a joint press conference in Moscow alongside Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.

• Makei said that Russia's position with regards to Belarus was to stop any outside interference in the country's political system.
• Mass protests continue in Minsk calling for the ouster of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who opponents say rigged the August 9 presidential election.
• The situation does not appear to mirror that of Ukraine and its Euromaidan protests in 2013-14. The latter were overtly pro-EU and sought to shift Ukraine towards a more pro-EU political outlook, whereas the protests in Belarus at present are not overtly pro-EU, instead solely calling for democratic reforms and Lukashenko's ouster.
• As such, the EU is much less willing to offer overt support to the protesters or opposition, for fear of being seen as an 'outside influence' that could give the Kremlin a reason to send its own agents into Belarus.