Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko on winning a sham presidential election this weekend.
“Dear Aleksandr Grigorievich, I sincerely congratulate you on your reelection as President of the Republic of Belarus,” Putin said Monday in a statement published on the Kremlin’s website.
“Your convincing victory in the elections clearly demonstrates your high political authority, as well as the undoubted support of the population for the state course that Belarus follows,” he added.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than 30 years, won a presidential election on Sunday with 86.82 percent of vote according to Belarusian state media, marking his seventh term as leader of the Eastern European country.
More than half a million people have fled Belarus since Lukashenko’s last rigged election victory in 2020, which saw massive protests erupt across the country. Lukashenko’s regime brutally crushed the demonstrations, jailing thousands of political prisoners.
Minsk and Moscow have deepened ties in recent years, with Belarus firmly supporting the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and storing Russian nuclear warheads on its soil.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also congratulated Lukashenko on Monday, according to Chinese state media.
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