MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2020) Belarusian elections were not discussed at the Russian-Belarusian talks in Minsk, an informed source told Sputnik on Friday.
Negotiations of the two countries' foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Vladimir Makei of Belarus, were held on Friday in Minsk. The talks, in particular, resulted in an agreement on the mutual recognition of visas.
"No, it was not discussed. This is not that competence. This is an internal issue of Belarus. And the negotiations are focused on foreign policy," the source said, answering whether the situation around the upcoming presidential election in Belarus had been discussed at the talks.
The parties discussed interaction in international organizations, in the UN, OSCE, and disarmament issues, the source said.
Presidential election in Belarus will be held on August 9. Earlier in the week, searches were held at the Minsk headquarters of Belgazprombank, which was headed by presidential contender Viktor Babariko for 20 years. After Babariko's detention on Thursday, Ivan Tertel, chairman of the Belarusian State Control Committee, said that puppeteers among "big bosses at Gazprom, and maybe even higher" had been involved in Babariko's unlawful activities. Babariko believes that the authorities' actions are politically motivated.
