WASHINGTON. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky has said the unsanctioned protests in Minsk that happened on the day of the Belarusian presidential election reminded him of the 2014 events on Kyiv's Maidan (Independence Square).
"Deja vu in Minsk. It's clear there are those who don't agree with Lukashenko reelection, but they are still loud minority which tries to impose its will on silent majority.And Western "geoengineers" shamelessly exploit this as they did in Maidan in Ukraine ruining the country," Polyansky said on Twitter.
The presidential election took place in Belarus on Sunday. According to initial information from exit polls, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko gained 79.7% of the vote, and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya ranked second with 6.8%.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry has said it is in control of the situation at unsanctioned demonstrations that started in Belarus on Sunday night.
"The police are in control of the situation despite the fact that unsanctioned mass events are continuing in regional centers and the city of Minsk," the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA quoted Interior Ministry spokesperson Olga Chemodanova as saying.
Chemodanova confirmed continuing detentions at unsanctioned demonstrations. "There is no aggregate information as of yet," she said.
Meanwhile, a number of Belarusian media outlets reported ongoing clashes between the protesters and the police in Minsk. According to some reports, protesters are also clashing with the police and detentions are taking place in other Belarusian cities.