Talk:Belarus

Belarus elections
August 9, 2020.

Lukashenko's message to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly.

...and Russia

 * Union State of Russia and Belarus, Wikipedia (in Russian)
 * Information portal of the Union State

PMC arrest
Night of 28/29 July, 2020. Moved here.

Opposition view(s)

 * Valerii Solovei, Echo Moskvy, Aug. 3, 2020
 * No idea where he is getting his info and is it accurate or bluff
 *  "On Friday, there was a very difficult conversation between the two presidents - Lukashenko and Putin. It was in a raised voice. And the Russian president insisted, I would say, in a very convincing, peremptory manner, that the top thirty be urgently returned to the Russian Federation. But Lukashenko said that he was ill, that, you understand, he had a hypertensive crisis, and that he would not discuss anything at all until Monday."
 * No info about such conversation officially. Putin had his security council meeting on this matter at about 14:00 on Friday. Peskov made some press statements. Nothing close to what Solovei says was published by media, or anywhere else I am ware of. I do not know whether it happened.
 * There seem to be little new on Monday, apart from Lukahsenko decree calling for next draft, to serve in the Army. Lukashenko is supposed to address the National Assembly, but it is not reported yet (apparently scheduled Aug. 4). There are reports of some Belarus troop movements towards borders, including Russia. This comes with a video from Novaya Gazeta, which is not on my trusted sources list (it is commercially pro-Western, like WaPo of Russia, sort of).
 * Solovei continues with some grander visions of possibly "Slavic Spring" and that he is in consultations with some unnamed folks, on something like calling for national backing of Khabarovsk protest; this continues with some speculations on how regime change in Russia might look like.
 * Solovei comes across as an intelligent person who somehow often makes public comments, picked up well by opposition press. Whether his opinions are accurate and what is really behind the scenes, if anything, I cannot really say. --Resup (talk) 21:58, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

On Aug 4 it is reported by a Russian journalist Pegov that some Belarus men with military experience in regions close to Russia are drafted (draft note-no name here) for 25 days starting Aug 10, the day after the elections.

...and USA

 * Please welcome the new Chargé d’Affaires Jeffrey Giauque - by.usembassy.gov, 27 July, video dated 28 July, 2020
 * New U.S. charge d'affaires arrives in Belarus - belarus.by, 27 July, 2020
 * On 20 July, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Kravchenko ambassador to the United States of America. He plans to travel to the United States in August.
 * “A lot will depend on your work. We will discuss this in detail later. I will convey my instructions through the minister. We will need support and assistance from the United States of America, especially in the financial sector during this pandemic time,” the president told Oleg Kravchenko.

...and Lithuania

 * The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Lithuania of six (6) UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $380 million - dsca.mil, July 6, 2020
 * US deployed nine combat helicopters to Lithuania, a battalion said to arrive later - topwar.ru, Rusvesna, 112.ua, August 3, 2020

Last updated --Resup (talk) 14:51, 3 August 2020 (UTC)