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Belarus closes borders with Poland & Lithuania amid political turmoil with Western-backed opposition Belarus closes borders with Poland & Lithuania amid political turmoil, accusing both countries of interfering in its affairs
(about 11 hours later)
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has announced the decision to shut the country’s border with Poland and Lithuania, accused of stroking protests in the country. Minsk will also “reinforce” its border with Ukraine. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has announced the decision to shut the country’s borders with Poland and Lithuania. He says the neighboring states are stroking protests in the country, and openly backing the opposition.
As of late Thursday, however, the Lithuania-Belarus border remained open, the Baltic nation’s interior ministry has said, adding that it did not receive any official notifications about the closure from Minsk. Minsk will also “reinforce” its southern border with Ukraine, a country it has maintained generally good relations with over the years, even supporting Kiev in its dispute with Russia over Crimea, in 2014. 
Both Poland and Lithuania, as well as other neighboring nations, have been repeatedly accused by Minsk of fueling the protests that have been gripping the country for over a month already. The unrest was sparked by August 9 presidential elections, when the long-term Belarus leader Lukashenko secured a solid win, getting over 80 percent of votes, The country’s opposition, backed by foreign players including the EU and the US, rejected the official results as grossly falsified and called for street protests. As of late Thursday, however, the Lithuania-Belarus border remained open, the Baltic nation’s interior ministry has said, adding that it did not receive any official notification about the closure from Minsk.
Lithuania has been particularity hostile towards Minsk lately, as it harbored the runaway opposition figure and former presidential candidate Svetlan Tikhanovskya, who claims to have won the contested elections. Last week, Lithuanian parliament even recognized former presidential candidate Tikhanovskaya as the “elected leader” of the Belarusian people, while branding Lukashenko an “illegitimate” one. Quite predictably, such a move has further soured the relations between the two countries and invoked a very angry reaction in Minsk. Both Poland and Lithuania, as well as other foreign states, have been repeatedly accused by Minsk of fueling the protests that have gripped the country over the past month. The unrest was sparked by August 9 presidential elections, when the long-term incumbent Lukashenko officially secured a win, with over 80 percent of the vote. The country’s opposition, backed by foreign players including the EU and the US, rejected the official results as grossly falsified and called for street protests.
Lithuania has been particularity hostile towards Minsk lately, as it took in the exiled opposition figure and former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskya, who claims to have won the contested elections. Last week, the Lithuanian parliament even recognized her as the “elected leader” of the Belarusian people, while branding Lukashenko an “illegitimate” president. This prove provoked a very angry reaction in Minsk.